Bed of Violence
by cute.sadistic.chibi
Summary: He wanted to learn; he had to know; he needed someone to teach him. Sakura wants to be the one to tame the beast, but has no idea what she got herself into.
1. Chapter 1: Knowing What is

**This was the first couple that started it all, so I might as well write another one for it.** **My inspiration comes from music, art, and dreaming. Right now, my inspiration for this work comes from the wonderful comic called 'Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.'**

**I re-edited this chapter, took out things, put in things.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

He couldn't take it, the laughter, the joy, and those people. They were all walking about minding their own business, being annoying as ever. He hated people so much that it made him hunger for carnage. The beast inside him rumbled in agreement and urged him to go hunting. But he couldn't do it, he wanted to, but there was something stopping him from destroying everything. At first he thought it was because of the assignment the village had given him, but could care less what they wanted him to do. It was deeper than that.

It was her.

Gaara sat on the rooftop of a temple and looked down upon the village in disgust. Nobody cared about him, no one even noticed the red hair boy staring down at them. He felt alone and lost in a world that didn't want him. There was no purpose for his being other than to cause destruction. He had no right to walk among the others, he wasn't one of them; he was his own kind. The thought swept through him like a tidal wave, consuming his flesh, tearing him apart.

Why did everyone hate him so much, what had he ever done to them? They all gave him the same glare and sneer every time. He was used to it by now, but somehow it still bothered him inside

But then, something _different _happened that he never thought would.

It was this afternoon, after he had stopped his idiot brother from fighting the Uchiha brat. She actually had the nerve to stop them and question their authority; there was a hint of fear in her eyes, but not the same one he always saw. She was brave, and a mystery to him as well, he had never come upon someone such as her.

She was in his mind the whole day, her beauty was impeccable. It was as if no one was worthy enough to touch her. Like a rare flower; she must be handled with gentility and care. Her smile was hypnotizing, alluring in such a way he had never seen. But she only smiled to him, the uncaring Uchiha boy. It angered him, why should the Uchiha boy have a person like her, when he had nothing and would always cherish something that special.

It was painful to know that she would never want him. He longed for a companion to be by his side, though that is only a dream worth tossing aside. She gave him a great pain he never knew could hurt as bad as it did now. The hate and anger once again boiled inside him.

He had to calm himself so that the demon inside wouldn't get too rallied up.

_What was her name again?_

**I don't remember, why don't you go find out, eh?**

_Where is she?_

He scanned the entire village, but to no prevail. She must have been asleep by now considering how late it was. He longed to slumber just like the common person. But he could not close his eyes without imagining the horror Shukaku might bestow upon others and himself. The only time he feared and cared.

"I'll find you."

For now, the only company he could ask for was the moon to shine down on him until the sun took its place.

* * *

"_Where am I?" Sakura walked around a snowy field wearing nothing but a simple pink kimono, becoming more lost by the minute._

_There was no sun, no clouds; there was nothing. All she could see for miles was snow and black, dead trees. She feared she'd never be able to find her way out. It was also becoming colder and her thin kimono wasn't keeping her warm for long. Her lips became slightly white and blue as the temperature dropped. No sound, not even the whisper of the wind. Her own voice was caught in her throat. But even if it wasn't, no one would hear her out here. This wasn't real, she kept thinking. But the bitter cold felt like it, the snow felt real enough to send shivers through out her body._

"_Hello?" She managed to choke out, her throat was raspy._

"_There you are."_

_She didn't recognize the voice so she refused to turn around. However something inside her told her to if she wanted to live. She faced a black shadow taller than her with a hidden face. Surprisingly, there was no fear in her. His hand reached out and gently touched her cheek. For a minute she was relishing the sudden warmth and was about to call out Sasuke's name until, the identity of the stranger was revealed._

_Sakura stepped back, "You…"_

_It was the red hair boy she met earlier, what was he doing here? Was he going to leave her all alone in the snow to die?_

"_Don't fear me." He slowly spoke out._

"_What?"_

"_Please," He began to walk over to her, "Everyone is afraid of me."_

_He sounded so sad, she couldn't be now. He seemed just as lost as she was. She let him come closer until she felt his breath on her face._

"_Who are you?"_

_He remained silent for a moment before uttering the words, "Gaara of the Sand."_

Sakura woke up immediately at the sound of her alarm clock ringing in her ears. She grumbled about tossing the stupid thing away, smashed the thing until it stopped ringing, flopping back down onto her pillow. Today was the first part of the chuunin exams, the written exam. She had heard about it from other chuunins already. The test changes every year so if someone was hoping to get some early answers, they were in for a disappointment.

She looked up at the ceiling and thought about the dream. It felt more than that; like something was trying to send her a message. It was odd how of all people, he was dreaming about him. She had hardly met him, and he was a bit frightening. But in her head, he seemed lonely like her.

"Sakura, Get up or you'll be late!"

"Alright mom!"

She pushed herself off the bed and into the bathroom. After getting ready, she ran down the stairs, and grabbed some toast before leaving the house in a hurry. The sky was grey and the air humid. Now she wouldn't have to feel bad about taking a test on a sunny day. She raced over Team 7's usual meeting place, and like always, Sasuke was always there first.

Her heart fluttered and she put on her brightest smile. She walked casually over to his side tried to act cool.

"Good morning Sasuke."

"Hn."

He was doing it again. She didn't know why or how she could tolerated this, it was obvious that he didn't care about her, but she always looked past that to win him over. She didn't deserve this, not from him or anyone, she was better than that. Why lower herself to some simple minded fan girl trying to win the affection of someone who didn't care? It wasn't fair to her.

She looked over the bridge, hoping Naruto would come soon so she had someone to talk to. She was so desperate for someone, she was actually wanted Naruto here.

_How can I be weak? I'm the smartest shinobi in the village and yet I do this to myself._

The dream popped up back into her head, and that was all she could think about until she saw something that gave her a quick heart attack. She saw the reflection of a body in the river and followed it until it came to shore, revealing its host.

He was staring at her, with an indifferent look on his face. Almost like Sasuke, but there was an intensity in his eyes much more different. He was longing for something. She couldn't move, he had her in a grip and she didn't know what to do.

"Gaara…" She whispered.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura shook her head and tore her gaze at her Sasuke, "Where's Naruto?"

He pointed to her right. She quickly moved away from the bridge and walked over to the him, "Hey Sakura! Good morning!"

"Morning." She smiled. He was so kind and nice to her. She felt bad for treating him so badly sometimes.

"You," Naruto glared at Sasuke, who glared right back, "Jerk."

"Dope."

They did this every morning, and as much as it annoyed her, she was always amused by them bickering like old women. She glanced behind her shoulder to see if he was still looking at her, and to her relief; he was gone. Now she could breathe easier. But there was still an uneasy feeling looming around. He suddenly became the thing preoccupying her mind.

"Hey Sakura are you alight?"

She quickly looked over at Naruto, "Yeah, I was just thinking of something."

"Something bothering you?"

Now Sasuke even looked at her, "No, no trust me I'm alright. I'm just you know, getting ready to pound Kakashi after he shows up two hours late!"

"Yeah! Why does he always do that? Come on, we're going to be chuunins soon!"

"Well, maybe not you." Sasuke said.

"What did you say!"

* * *

Gaara hid behind the back of a calligraphy class, listening to the shouts of the stupid blonde and the smart ass remarks of the Uchiha. He was almost smirking at himself; he had accomplished more than he had planned to. He found out the name of his little heartache and she was finally _looked_ at him this time. Her eyes were more remarkable then he had imagined, like emeralds glittering in the river. She muttered something incoherent, but it if he had to guess, it would be his name.

His gourd responded to his emotions and started rumbling, moving around, knocking down flower pots, even trying to slip into the classroom to crush some people.

He needed to know more; he wanted to learn more about the girl that captivated him. It was unfair, it was agonizing, there had to be a more simple way of approaching this.

The chuunin exams.

He wasn't taking those useless exams so seriously, but now, it was the only way to get closer to her.

"Sakura."

The name came out like the hissing of a snake.

"We will meet again."

**

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**

Ciao


	2. Chapter 2: Secret

**I edited this chapter, fixed some mistakes, changed some things. Just uploaded it again is all.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura huffed in weariness and leaned against the side of the cliff for balance as she tried to catch her breath. It was hard enough going up against Sasuke and Naruto, but Kakashi as well? Her chakra level was low at this point, trying to beat everyone off so they wouldn't knock her out. She took out a kunai and strapped a letter bomb to it, peeking around the corner to see if anyone was there. No one, it was all empty, not a soul in sight. The birds became quiet and the sky stopped moving, everything was waiting for her to make her move.

"Hey Sakura,"

She screamed and jumped into the air, throwing the letter bomb at Naruto, who caught it and looked at it for a second before realizing what it was. She managed to escape in time before the thing exploded, causing Naruto to fly fifty feet from where he was standing. She landed gracefully on her feet at top of the cliff.

"Oi Sakura, what was that for!" He called out to her.

"Serves you right, this is training you know."

"I just wanted to ask where Kakashi and Sasuke are!"

Sakura got up and scanned the training grounds, she looked through the trees and the shadows of the cliffs, but there was no sign of the two.

"When was the last time you saw them?"

"Well, Sasuke and I were chasing after Kakashi, but that idiot fell over a hill and we couldn't find him after that, so then we started to fight and then there was this huge explosion between us and smoke was everywhere! So after smoke and dust cleared off, he disappeared too."

Naruto crawled out of the bushes and rubbed dust off his clothing.

"That's odd, where could those two have gone?"

"Hey Sakura," Naruto called up teasingly.

"What?"

"Hey, this means we're alone right?" His eyes brows perked up at the ideas running through his mind.

"Oh get real Naruto, just go look for them right now!"

"Fine," He grumbled and ran into the forest.

She let out a sigh of relief and fell down onto her back. The tree above created shade for her to rest for a while until Naruto got back and ruined everything for her again. She just wanted to relax for a bit before actually going in tomorrow to do the chuunin exams. This should have been and exciting day for her, but really she was beyond exhausted, if it was hard dealing with Sasuke and Naruto already, she couldn't imagine competing with others.

"_I am Gaara of the Sand."_

There he was again, running through her mind and consuming her like a bad cold. Who was he? All she had on him is a face and name, which really meant nothing. He came from the sand village and it looked to her that gourd he carried on his back was his main source of sand, probably had chakra imbedded in it. She thought of how horrible it would be to go up against him in the chuunin exams.

"Gaara…" His name came out smoothly on her lips.

"Yes?"

Her heart jumped out of her chest. She was too afraid to turn around and look. The stranger's voice was deep, but not deep enough to be a man, more like a boy with a velvet, sultry voice. She looked around her shoulder, and turned her body. He was standing in front of the sun so it was hard to see his face. She slowly got up and tried to look at him square in the eyes, but they were too intimidating, he gave off a _demonic_ aura.

Her hand itched to grab the kunai hidden in her back pocket, but couldn't move. Sand had suddenly grabbed her hands. He had her trapped in place.

He got closer to her, she tried to back up but the sand held her in place. Horrid thoughts of torture raced through her mind. She was panicking on the inside and out, and closed her eyes once he stopped in front of her. She waited for some searing pain or a stab to the heart, but instead there was nothing. She poked her right eye open and noticed him looking at her in a curious way.

She opened her eyes all the way and grew irritated.

"Are you going to just stare at me all day or what?" She growled, but it sounded more like a weak meow.

"Or what is exactly the question." He smirked.

She was frightened again. His smirked sent shivers down her spine. It looked…unnatural. She'd hate to see what his face would look like if he smiled.

"You're Gaara of the Sand."

"Yes."

"Well, w-why are you here?"

"I'm here for your heart,"

She tried to move, but the more she struggled, the more the sand constricted her. She was stuck as his prisoner. He placed a hand right on top of her chest where her beating heart was and rested his head on her shoulder. Her smell intoxicated him; it was something he had never experienced before. Somehow, this intimate move by Gaara, didn't bother her, to her disbelief. He was too close for comfort, but somewhere in the back of her clouded mind, she didn't mind.

"Why?"

"Because mine shattered in agony, now it is dead because of you," He pressed hard into her chest, digging his claws into her skin. She winced in pain, "I want yours, I want to hold it beating in my hands, and I want to watch it erupt into flames No one causes me pain."

Her voice shook with terror, "I had never done anything to you, I don't know you."

"Mother is hungry for your heart, mother wants to see it burn."

"Please let me go." She tried to break free, but he grabbed her neck and held her in place.

"No, you can't leave me again. I've been waiting for someone like you my entire life; I've seen the way you look at that Uchiha boy, why won't you look at me like that?"

"You've been following me?" _Why couldn't I detect his chakra?_

He pushed his body right up against hers and growled into her ear, "I want you; I want to see your dead body covered in your blood. I want to hear you scream my name in pain. I tear you into shreds. No one has ever made me more violent. You...make…me…"

"Are you alone?"

Gaara pushed away from her and his sand retreated along with him, he suddenly became scared and worried. He was right; she was too smart. She could read between the lines. He didn't want her to see him so weak and helpless, but whenever that wretched word come up his soul would sink away and everything would grow dark, like there was no hope in the world.

She took a step towards him, but stopped when she saw the look in his eyes. A mixture of sorrow and blood lust.

"You think you've won, but we'll see in the end, it's you who will be suffering!" The sand around him swirled in a small tornado, carrying him away to some far off place.

She sunk to the ground and dropped her head in between her knees, what had she gotten herself into?

"Sakura, you ok?" Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder, he was worried, "I heard some noise coming and I thought you were being attacked. I couldn't find Kakashi or Sasuke, but they-"

She jumped up at him and held him close, "Don't say anything."

* * *

Gaara stumbled through the rooftop of the apartment he was staying at, and tried to grab something to steady himself. His head hurt so much, memoires of pain streamed right back into his head, causing him more aggravation. Nothing was more agonizing than remembering his past. Everything he hated was coming back from just hearing that one word he dreaded; 'alone'

He hated being alone, he hated walking through the night with only his shadow to occupy him, and most of all; he hated being tormented by the demon inside. It wouldn't allow him to be like the others, he had to walk the lonely path alone.

"No…why!" His scream echoed across the village.

Below, Temari stopped eating for a second and put down her bowl. She gave Kankuro a worried look and got up.

"Wait, maybe you should leave Gaara alone, you know how he doesn't like us bothering him."

"But he's hurting right now," Temari sat back down.

"It's that damn demon; we can't do anything about it except wait for him to let it all out."

"I still feel bad, like we should do something about it."

"I know."

Gaara grabbed the edge of the rooftop and struggled to calm himself. He exposed his weakness. The one who made him this way now had the weapon to destroy him, but would she do such a thing. The look he had been hoping for, the look that sent him over the edge in the first place; she finally gave that to him. But it still wasn't fair, she still wasn't his, she still longed for the enemy.

But that would all change. Soon, he will make her come to him. Dead or Alive.

**

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**

Ciao


	3. Chapter 3: Heart

**I re-edited this :] Hopefully now it's less sucky.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

He sat on the roof of the same temple he had been coming too for the past week. His eyes were closed in a deep meditation, searching his mind for any ounce of reason. What had become of him? His sense of control was lost and was killing people recklessly.

Tomorrow begins the chuunin exams, which meant he would meet her again. His siblings mustered up the nerves to ask him what was wrong, but like always, he threatened to kill them if they spoke to him. He knew it wasn't because they cared about him; it was because they were afraid he was going to turn on them like he always said he would. Weak, they were all so weak.

"Where is she?"

**I can smell her scent; she's close**

_Take me to her._

**Just follow my lead, go that way.**

His head moved to the left all on its own and very faintly, he could see a light pink glow, probably chakra, flowing from his right. He made his way swiftly. The buildings blurred in the background as he ran, jumping from roof to roof. He was getting worked up over such a little thing. He had never been so excited to hunt. He hoped to make his mark tonight.

The flow of soft chakra pulled him over to a two story house where the chakra radiated from an open window room. He stopped on top of the last house and looked into the dark room. He could see nothing except for the white curtains that flowed in and out of the room.

He moved closer to see if she was in there, but instead he heard faint talking, almost like whispers coming from the room. Growing curious by the second, he moved in closer until he was standing right on the very edge.

"…He does…"

She was talking to someone. He wanted to hear more, so he jumped from the roof onto her window ledge, where he could hear everything perfectly. Her back was turned to him, she was sitting on her bed with her legs pulled back with a phone held to her ear.

"I don't know, he seems very distant nowadays. I want him to let me in, but he seems to close everyone off."

He could tell already she was talking about the Uchiha boy. He lowered his eyes in envy and anger, she was still thinking about him. He would have to show her that he was better for her.

"I don't know anymore, I want him to talk to me about everything, but I think he's afraid. He shouldn't be, I like him not fear him."

He could see now that her affections for him were strong. He'd have to compete with a player who didn't care, for her. He didn't understand why he was trying, maybe it was the fact that they both longed for someone, drew him to her.

"Well, we have a big day tomorrow, we should get to bed. Good night."

Sakura put her phone down and let out a sigh, not realizing the presence of another. She closed her eyes and pulled the covers over her.

"Sasuke…"

She didn't even know why she was bothering with him anymore; he kept ignoring her the entire day. But she always found comfort with Naruto, whom she decided to meet up with at the Ramen Shop for an early breakfast.

"…I wish you'd speak to me," Finally she dozed off.

Gaara slipped into the room and landed silently onto the floor and watched the sleeping beauty in her white canopy bed. He moved over to her side and inhaled her scent. How innocent she looked, lying there bestowed under the moonlight. Her chest lifted up and down with every sweet breath she took.

_Enjoy being alive._

He moved his hand over her, his sand beginning to surround her. She looked so delicate and easy to rip apart. She didn't feel the sand caressing her face, touching every part of her body. He smirked like a mad man, ready to kill her at the spot, until she muttered something that stopped him.

"Gaara…"

He backed up against the wall and brought his hand down; his sand stopped moving and sat there on her bed. He didn't know what to do; he had never been in this situation before and hoped never get into one, but now here he was, about ready to kill the lovely maiden but couldn't

"Why?" He moved over to her and knelt at her side, "How can you do this to me?"

She didn't hear him, her mind was elsewhere. He moved his shaking hands over to her face, and touched her silky skin. He pulled his hand back, she was like acid, and everything about her told him that he wasn't worthy to touch her. But he needed it; he needed to feel her warmth. Her eyes began to flutter, but she wasn't going to wake up anytime soon.

He moved his skilled fingertips over to her neck, making her squirm under his touch. He continued to fool around, moved his finger up and down her arm, then back to her neck again, and stopping right above her chest. Her beating heart was just right under the skin and bones, he could hear it pounding, full of life and blood. What would he do now, take it out and watch her bleed to death, or leave it there and watch from a distant as she gives it someone else?

He dropped his hand on top of her chest and put his head down on the mattress. She was so lucky she could sleep; he would do anything to close his eyes for once and not imagine the terror that would follow. He would do anything to sleep next to her.

Suddenly he could feel the heart beating very fast and very hard, he looked up to her head turned towards him. He was expecting her to scream and swipe his hand away, but to his amazement, she was just staring at him. His sand was all over her bed, so if she tried to run away, he could easily capture her. He waited the first move.

She slowly got up, while still keeping her eyes glued to him. His hands slipped down onto her thigh, but he made no attempt to move.

He raised himself and looked deep into her eyes. She tried to back up, but he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her closer so their foreheads touched. She looked down, afraid to look into his hungry eyes.

"Don't run away from me, everyone runs."

"So you are alone then?" Her voice was shaking.

"Don't say that, don't ever say it," He growled, "As long as this demon is inside me I am never alone."

Her eyes finally locked onto his, "You have a demon inside you?" She sounded so surprised.

"Yes, and everyone wants me dead. But I don't care, nothing matters to me."

"Nothing?"

"No one, I love only myself and fight for only myself."

"Then why are you here?"

He gripped her neck harder and wrapped his other one around the front of her throat, trying to cut her oxygen off, "Because you make me insane, you make me want to do terrible things. I can't remember the last time I wanted to paint the village red with its own blood. I kill until I'm not hungry anymore."

She closed her eyes and tried to loosen his grip from her throat, but he only tightened his hold. She looked down to her pillow where she hid her kunai, but even if she made and attempt to grab for it, he'd already suffocate. She needed to think up a way to escape.

"What have I done?" she coughed out, "I don't know you. "

"I wish you did, I want you to see I'm not a monster, I want you to look at me like I'm a human being."

"Do you want someone to love you?"

He let go of her neck and brought his hands to her head. His fingers slipped through her hair, "What is that?"

What could she say? She didn't know what it was either, she thought she was in love with Sasuke, but these feelings for him were slowly dying away. The only things she could think of was what she read in fairy tales.

"It's…something only two people can share with each other, a bond that can't be broken…"

"Tell me more,"

"Love is when you're happy that the other person is in the world with you," her eyes filled with water, "Love oxygen, it's life itself. The person you're in love with holds you're heart in their hands and you do the same with theirs, never letting go, never forgetting who you're with and what they mean to you." There was sadness in her words.

He took notice of this and couldn't understand, "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know."

"Are you in love?"

"I thought I was, until he broke my heart for the last time."

Gaara caught her tear in his palm and brought it close to his face, "Is this what they call 'tears'?"

She nodded her head. She shouldn't take it anymore, why did he care about 'love'? And why was he making her talk about it? All he wanted to do was kill people.

"Please what do you want with me?"

"Your heart," He tilted her head to the side, "Served to me on a plate." He crushed her lips onto his, finally tasting them. She tasted like fresh kill and spring morning mixed together.

She tried to push him away, struggling with him. But after while she stopped, and to her surprise; moved her lips with his. His were rough while hers were soft; he was hungry and pushed his tongue into her mouth. She was taken aback by his actions and didn't know how to respond. He dominated over her and she didn't know what to do.

'_**Ugh, what is happening? This is so wrong'**_

Her mind was right. She kept putting up a struggle but soon grew too exhausted from his domineering force, she let her body take over, until Gaara stopped and smirked at her.

"It's not blood, but it's just as good."

She couldn't speak, she was too taken back to respond.

"I think I'll keep you alive now, I have your heart in my hands. What should I call it?"

"Sakura."

**

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It does seem wrong to write a mature fanfiction with twelve year olds doesn't it? Well I'm a fucked up person. And no, I don't take any pleasure in this.

**Ciao**


	4. Chapter 4: Knowing What are

**I re-edit this to the best of my abilities**

**Enjoy**

* * *

She was too afraid to go back to sleep, he left the minute their lips parted, disappearing in a puff of sand. She hid under the covers of her blanket and watched as the sun began to rise over the village. She pulled the covers over her head with shaky hands and got off the bed, then walked to the bathroom.

Today was a big day and she had to be focused.

She looked at herself in the mirror; there were dark bags under her red eyes and her skin was ghastly pale. The things he said were still swimming around in her mind, he made her feel vulnerable.

"I won't let you stop me."

She forced herself to clear her mind, vowing never to let anything like that happen again. She'll make sure that the next time he showed up, she'd be ready for his attack. Sakura ran down stairs and jumped out the door, only to run into Naruto, and feel to the ground. He grinned down on her as she glared at him.

"Hey Sakura!"

"Naruto, what are you doing here?"

"Ramen shop remember!" He held his hand out for her.

She smiled up at him and took his hand, pulling him in the direction of a bakery instead. They took off a couple minutes later, each holding a pastry in their handa and found Sasuke waiting for them at the bridge. Sakura threw one at him and walked to other side, not bothering to greet him, to both the boys' utter surprise.

"Its breakfast, so eat up before the exams."

"Sakura are you feeling alright?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Because you usually flirt with _him_," Naruto glared at Sasuke, "every morning."

"Shut up, I'm tired ok? I didn't get that much sleep last night," Her eyes grew distant.

"Did something happen to you?" Sasuke asked, actually worried.

"Nothing to be concerned about just excited is all." She faked a smiled.

"Why don't you want to talk to us?" Naruto walked over to her and tried to look her in the face.

She felt guilty for being reclusive, but didn't feel like bringing anyone else into her problems, she quickly changed the subject, "Where's Kakashi? I can't believe he's going to be late on such an important day!"

"Yeah! unbelievable!"

Sakura sighed in relief, but noticed that Sasuke hadn't stopped looking at her, which made it more uncomfortable. She smiled again before turning away, her face might reveal something. After about an hour later, Kakashi popped up right behind Sakura, she jumped down and the boys gathered around her.

"Alright everyone, it's a big day, probably one of the biggest days of your puny little lives," Kakashi jumped down, "I won't be able to attend the exams, but my thoughts are with you. I've trained and watched you guys grow from the very beginning, now it's your time to step through those doors without me and show the world what you've learned."

Sakura looked at him with a new perspective, all the cockiness her teacher was famous for was washed away. Instead a new kind of admiration began to grow; his words and wisdom would stick with her for all of her life. She was proud to be his student and would always remember his teachings.

He put a hand on Sakura's head, "Watch over the boys will you?"

"I promise,"

"Now get out of my sight and go make me proud." He waved good bye and walked in the opposite direction.

"Alright this is going to be awesome!" Naruto ran ahead in excitement.

Just before Sasuke could walk away, she grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, "Sasuke,"

"What?"

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Depends on what it is."

"Can you…stay close to be until we take the exams?"

He gave her a weird look, but saw the seriousness in her eyes and nodded.

"Just at by my side."

She smiled a little at him and they walked together into the exam building. Once they entered, they were greeted by a crowd of angry shinobis. There were two boys blocking the entrance way to the main exam room, but Sasuke and Sakura easily showed them off and forced them to leave. Naruto burst into the room and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Naruto shut up or you'll get us killed!" Sakura growled.

"Sasuke!" Ino jumped on his back, "How I've missed you! I've been thinking about you all day you know."

"Hey Ino-pig, get the hell off him!"

"Why? Are you jealous your big forehead is no match for my beauty?"

"My ass, have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"Why yes I have and I still look more gorgeous than you."

"In your dreams little miss porker!"

The two kunoichis battled it out with each other until familiar faces started to appear, "Man women are so troublesome." Shikamaru groaned.

"Stay out of this!" The two girls screamed at him.

As continued to bicker, other familiar cells gathered round. Naruto was chatting with Hinata for a while before getting bored and turned his attention to yelling at the people already sitting down, proclaiming statements like 'I'm gonna kick you asses!'

"Could you say that louder? I don't think they heard you all the way in Mist." Kiba said.

"Hey forehead, tell your boyfriend to shut up!"

"He's not my boyfriend! Naruto, stop it!" she looked over at the angry crowed and grinned nervously, but stopped suddenly.

He was looking at her, with callous eyes. Sakura stopped breathing for a second and backed up behind Sasuke. He gave her a curious look, arching his eye brow.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine,"

It went on like this until a boy with silver hair, came up to them and introduced himself. Kabuto, was taking the chuunin exams for the seventh time. He showed them special cards that looked into the abilities of opposing shinobis, Sasuke asked for two specific ones, one of the names made Sakura's skin crawl.

"Rock lee and Gaara of the Sand."

"Well that's not fun, you already know their names."

Sakura looked more closely at Gaara's profile and to her surprise; there was nothing about him except that he had already gone on two level B missions. He was more powerful than she anticipated; now she was really on guard. Suddenly a sound shinobi attacked Kabuto with sound waves from his arm. But before the battle could be carried out, the instructor arrived and ended it. To Sakura's dismay, this meant she had to leave Sasuke's security. She could feel him watching her go to her seat as he took his. The written portion of the exams began, to Naruto's dismay.

Their instructor was followed by many chuunins and jonins. Ibiki, the instructor, explained all the rules and asked if anyone wished to leave before taking it. A couple people left, too afraid to try. After that, he passed out the hardest written exams, giving everyone a smug look. It was longer than expected, and it very difficult. So hard actually that someone would probably have to…cheat to get the answers.

She looked ahead and noticed Naruto shaking, feeling bad that he had to go through this ordeal. She couldn't stand it anymore; he probably hadn't written anything down since the exams started. She was about to raise her hand to call it all off, when all of a sudden he raised his own hand and slammed it down.

"I'm not afraid of you or your stupid exam! I'll pass this with flying colors!"

She smiled and shook her head, continuing with the exam.

* * *

Gaara looked at the blonde undaunted by crude and idiotic remarks. He noticed the bond between him and Sakura, assuming they were closer than the thought. Only another nuisance he would have to get rid of. He started feeling possessive ever since last night, greedy emotions swerved in and out of him.

He looked over at her and saw her slump over for a second before coming back to life. He summoned sand into his palm and created his infamous third eye, sending it over to the person in front, copying down all his answers.

He wanted to pay her another visit, again and again until it was written clear in blood that he would be the only person in her life. Like a child with his favorite toy, no one was allowed to touch it; no one was allowed to see it. It was his alone.

It was bothering him that she stayed particularly closer to Uchiha. Still after the way he treated her, she lingered at his side. If Sasuke could get away with being cruel, why couldn't he?

_What will happen after this?_

The world was still shrouded in mist, and as he finished copying the answers, he set his pencil down and thought about everything; his past, the present, and what would happen in the future. He never thought about this things so thoroughly before, until Sakura entered his life and soon she became the center of his mind. She had a life while he didn't, she had friends while he had none, and she knew about love while he knew nothing. Would she be willing to teach him? Would she be willing to show him? His head throbbed, it was working too fast and too much. Then from the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura peeking at him but quickly turned back around. He smirked and pretended not to notice.

_

* * *

_

Great, he caught me looking. What now?

She looked up at the clock, the exam would end in five minutes and hopefully, Naruto would be done by then. She didn't worry about Sasuke, knowing him, he probably figured out a way to get the answers. Finally, time was up and Ibiki hit the table, scaring some runts. He laughed in a creepy manner before explaining the process of the test, gaining a few crude remarks and laughs. Naruto started fuming, before crushing it off like it was no big deal.

But before Ibiki could continue on, a ball popped into the room and exploded. A woman, unraveled herself and enthusiastically revealed what the next exam was, to everyone's dismay.

_Are all the teacher here freaks?_

After everyone had left the room, Sakura waited for Naruto and Sasuke at the entrance, excited to hear their thoughts. Naruto spent the entire time venting while Sasuke kept to himself, still staying close to Sakura.

"Hello once again my beloved Sakura!" Rock lee bounced up to her and grabbed her hand, kissing it.

She quickly pulled her hand away and made ready to smack him, but stopped herself, "Rock lee, nice to see you again. Now I must leave." She grabbed Sasuke and Naruto by the collar and pulled them away. The sun was beginning to set, but no one was tired enough to go home.

"When do we leave for the next exam?" Naruto asked.

"They said tomorrow morning, they wanted to give us time to pack as much supplies as we can." Sakura responded.

"Then I should be on my way," Sasuke was about to leave, but Sakura held onto him.

"Wait, but don't you want to, uh, go get some supplies with us?"

"No, I'm equipped enough."

"But don't you at least want to have one last dinner with us; we could all go to the Ramen shop?"

"Yeah! Come on! This could be our last meal together as a squad!" Naruto became too excited

Sasuke looked at the Naruto, and then to Sakura, who seemed to be beginning him with her eyes. She was worried and he needed to figure out what was causing this.

"Fine,"

She sighed in relief and let go of his arm, he followed them over to the Ramen shack, "I thought you said we were going to go get weapons first."

Gaara watched from a distant as rage filled him, he hated how close she always was with the Uchiha and how he couldn't do anything about it.

The Uchiha didn't deserve someone like her; he was a spoiled brat that didn't appreciate what he had. He could have any girl in the village and when the perfect one was throwing herself at him, he didn't want it. It was more than he could take, he wasn't used to not getting what he wanted

_You belong to me._

**

* * *

**

I cut a lot of stuff out, to spare everyone and myself the agony of writing and reading the same things over again.

**Ciao**


	5. Chapter 5: Passion

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Please do not leave these type of comments "I hate Sakura." They annoy me, because one: It bothersome, two: I DON'T care if you don't like her ( I DO like her, someone assumed I didn't for an odd reason ), and three: they aren't reviews.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

It was nine thirty when they had finished eating and decided to part for the night, Sasuke walked Sakura home, to Naruto's dismay. She still felt uneasy about everything and didn't want to be alone. They stopped at her front door; she refused to look Sasuke in the eye.

"Thank you Sasuke, I'm sorry that I had to bother you like this," She glanced up at him.

"Whatever, just be ready for tomorrow."

"Yes, good night Sasuke,"

He left without saying another word. She watched him leave before running upstairs and into her room. She threw herself on her bed, too confused to fall asleep. She didn't know what to feel anymore, was she truly in love with Sasuke? Ever since that night, her mind was only wrapped around Gaara. His eyes reminded her of her own loneliness, they looked so distant. It didn't seem possible that there would be another person in this world who felt the same way.

She felt weak, like a mouse caught between the claws of a raging cat. While everyone was exceeding past her, she stayed behind and watched from a far. If she couldn't even get a boy to leave her alone, then there was no hope for her in the long run.

"What to do, what to do…"

Gaara watched from the rooftop as the pink haired girl walked into her bathroom, red and teary eyed. It annoyed him to think that he was drawn to such a thing like her, he could easily kill her if he wanted. She meant nothing to him, only some intriguing little toy he wanted to play with. He hated this disastrous feeling; he hated longing for someone when they didn't want him back. And yet, in the back of his murderous mind, he felt as if she was hoping someone like him would want her too.

He wanted to break her neck and make her scream; it pained him to see her with someone else. He wanted her to bleed for him, the demon inside stirred with hunger. He wanted play with his prey first before ripping her apart. He would take much pleasure in her murder.

And yet, there was a side of him that was drawn to her, to her smile and her soft, pale skin. She was hypnotizing and a magnet for destruction and her obliviousness to her doom made her all the more innocent. She wouldn't leave his mind; she haunted him like a beautiful ghost. It was dangerous to develop feelings that could lead him to his own demise. His entire life, he grew up not knowing what love was, or what its pitiful meaning meant, but somewhere inside he wanted to know. In the deep pits of his shriveled, lifeless heart he wanted to know what it meant to care for another. He only knew of pain and death, destruction was engraved into his brain, no other purpose in this world.

**No other purpose? You are pathetic.**

There was that annoying demon again, mocking him. The sick demon always kicked him while he was down. No one cared if he was alive, no one cared if he was suffering, and no one cared if he was lonely. He hated that word with a passion; it was the only thing in the world that could bring him down. And she knew; she knew how to make him fall to his knees. She had the one weapon that could make him disappear; he had to eliminate her before she did it to him.

His sand reacted violently to his thoughts, they rose from the earth like blazes in a flame, rising higher and going out of control. They moved towards the open window and grabbed at the curtains, trying to rip them apart. Gaara couldn't take it anymore, he had to kill something, he needed to see the life leaving its eyes, and watch it breathe its last breath. Just then, the bathroom door opened and Sakura stepped out, wrapped in a white towel. Immediately, she caught his eyes looking at her.

-----------------

She was frozen in her tracts; his sand was spreading itself everywhere in her room, hovering in the air like angry hands, ready to grab at everything. If she tried to run; he'd catch her and kill her, if she screamed; he'd silence her and kill her. She was the prey and he was the predator, ready to feast on her flesh and blood.

The water dripped down from her hair onto the floor, everything became colder. Her breaths shortened, her heart racing, every nerve in her body screamed for her to run. But she couldn't move, she wanted to face him, but fear overshadowed her bravery. He just sat there, looking right back at her with no emotion in his face, and nothing in his eyes.

"Gaara…" As she uttered his name, his sand constricted around her and pulled towards him.

Her grip on the towel loosened as she stopped herself from flying out of the window. Her hair covered her eyes, so she couldn't see him making his way towards her. He brushed aside her hair; she could feel her cheeks turning bright red as he examined her body. The sand stopped pulling at her and wrapped around her like rope. She quickly tried to cover herself, but he grabbed her wrists roughly.

"Stop it Gaara,"

"You can't stop me." He sounded so menacing, making her quiver at his words.

He looked down at her small, curvaceous body. He never once paid attention to a woman's body, but took his time with hers. Smooth, like an hourglass. He wanted to engrave his mark into her skin. She tried to pull her arms away, but he only tightened his grip even more, bringing her down to her knees. The blue and purple veins were throbbing and racing under his hands, making him even wilder; enticing him to cut them open. But he wanted to see what she would do next, squirming in her flesh.

She looked up at him, not with fear in her eyes but with hatred, to his amusement, "Why are you here?"

"To see you suffer, with your hate filled eyes."

"You want me to hate you?"

"Yes,"

"Then why ask me about 'love'?"

He gave her no response, soon the hate in her eyes began to fade away. She hid away her fear so he wouldn't feed off of it. His face was a blank slate, but Sakura would tell from the way he pursued her, he was desperate for answers. She couldn't bring herself to despise a pitiful creature such as him, because she felt the same way. The whole world turned its back on him as he walked the other way. They weren't so different in the end; they both wanted to be cared for and a purpose in life.

Gaara took notice of her change, "What is it?"

"I don't hate you." Her words came out as a whisper.

He was stunned, "Why?"

"I can't explain it, but I know that I can't hate you."

He was seething, "You don't know who I am or what I've done."

"No," She endured his iron grip, "I couldn't imagine the pain you must have been through, but to ask me a question like that, you must have been in so much pain to have such lonely eyes."

Gaara looked down at her, violent thoughts swarming in his mind. Nothing could stop him from killing her, because he knew she'd always be right. Her past must have been hard as well, but it was nothing compared to the torture he endured his whole existence. He was selfish, he wanted nothing more than to find someone like her and keep her, but at the same time; destroy her. There was a force keeping him from doing that, somewhere in the back of his head, there was some sanity left telling him to keep her breathing. He was torn down the middle. He only had two decisions; kill the girl, or let her live long enough to become his.

"Sakura," Her name came out in a growl.

"Please let me go,"

"Why?"

She had to be strong; she didn't want to look weak in front of this monster, "Please,"

"I need you."

His voice had suddenly changed; it became needy like a child. She looked up at him now as his grip loosened. She stood straight up and looked him in the eyes, searching for the answers he couldn't give her. She never noticed how his jade orbs gleamed hauntingly in the night or how magnetic they were, pulling her closer and closer. Gaara noticed the girl leaning in closer to him, invading his personal space. No it was his turn to feel awkward and at a loss for words.

"Your eyes, I've never seen any like yours."

"I've never seen pink hair before." He added defensively.

"I didn't mean it as an insult," She backed away a little, "It's just that yours eyes are beautiful."

He'd never heard that before, such a foolish thing to say; she didn't know what other color they turned into when he goes hunting in the night. Suddenly the area around them became thick with darkness, his evil thoughts taking control over him again.

Sakura became fearful again, he started taking small steps towards her. He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him, burying his head in her neck. His warm breath mingled with her freezing skin.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't be with you; I won't let myself fall so low." He sounded monstrous.

"Gaara it's not wrong to love someone."

"Love is futile, it is worthless."

"Let me go and I'll show you," She pulled her arms back and to her surprise, he let go. She fell to the floor.

"Show me what?"

"What are you searching for?"

He crouched down, his face only inches from hers, "I look for the one who will not fear from me."

"But fear is natural, it's human emotion. Without fear, we could never learn to be brave."

"What is the use of being brave when it leads to your downfall?"

"It leads to acceptance, and in the end, I'll accept you as you are; fearful or not."

He grabbed her hair and leaned into her ear, she closed her eyes at the intimate move. His lips were moving, saying inaudible things and holding everything back. He wanted to tell her something, but she wasn't ready to hear it. The closer she got, the more he pushed her away, but only to pull her back in.

"Not tonight, I will show you the monster within. I will make you see."

"See what?" She said almost breathless.

He smirked and stroked her cheek, "I'll make you scream my name."

"Gaara…"

He was gone. In a swift movement, the sand engulfed him and he disappeared. Sakura got up and looked around her room, nothing looked out of place, and everything was back to normal. She moved over to the window and held out her hand, into the moonlight. Sand fell from her palm.

**

* * *

**

Ciao.


	6. Chapter 6: Challenge

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities**

**Htugeilewrutgriuelg – inner Sakura**

_Gjfthrogiw;a - Sakura_

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Sakura looked around the field anxiously, her eyes moved constantly, searching for Gaara. His words haunted her. He was a monster, and he wanted to show her how much of a beast he was. And to her astonishment, she wanted to see. He fascinated her; she never thought someone as callous and vile as Gaara could exist. He had torture written all over his face, and it drew her to him. She was afraid, but also pity. She didn't want to hate him, but understand why he acted the way he does. Maybe it was her motherly instinct, or her kind-hearted nature that made her want to help him. She wanted to sooth his twisted heart, and make him see through changed eyes that the world wasn't a cold, barren wasteland. The only problem was his ever changing mood swings. The more she discovered about him, the harder he pushed her away. But he'd always be watching her.

Naruto gave her a weird look, "You're acting strange."

"It's because this place is creepy, I just have a bad feeling about it."

"Don't worry; we're a team so we work together!"

They smiled at each other just as Anko showed up. She slithered up to the front and smirked, "I'd like to see how well you runts work together in this place. This here kiddies, is called the '_Forest of Death'_."

Naruto waved it off pointed a challenging finger at the jonin, "Blah, blah! You think that'll scare us, you've got to do better than that! You're just trying to psych us out and I'm not falling for that!"

"You're a cocky one aren't you?" She picked up a kunai and threw it right at Naruto, grazing his cheek. Fresh blood began to seep out of his scare, "Spilling all that rich and luscious blood, I'd hate to see it all go to waste."

Just then, a woman appeared right behind Anko, holding the kunai with her long and disgusting tongue.

"I believe you dropped this?"

Anko looked up, "Gee thanks." She grabbed the kunai and pushed Naruto away, who went crawling back to Sakura and Sasuke.

"Way to go dope." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Naruto, do us all a favor and stop acting like an idiot!" Sakura seethed.

"That woman is a freak! Did you see that?" Naruto got up and tried to regain himself.

Sakura examined the woman from the grass village; she gave off an unusual feeling. Maybe it was just the tongue, but there was something formidable about her. She turned her eyes and caught Sakura looking, who quickly shifted her gaze elsewhere.

Anko disappeared behind a booth and came back with a bunch of papers in hand. They were consent forms and that they had to sign it just in case anyone dies, that way the conductors wouldn't be held liable.

Sakura grabbed one for Sasuke and Naruto, and went to sit behind a tree to sign hers. She grabbed a pen and began to sign when her leg started to itch. Every time she scratched it, the more it would itch until she couldn't take it anymore. Her whole leg was bothering her, but as she looked down, her jaw dropped. It was sand.

She immediately began to search for him. He was nowhere in sight, but she could feel him lurking somewhere in the shadows. Probably thinking up was to torture her in the Forest of Death. Suddenly, there was a heavy feeling in the air, pulling her head towards the left. He was there, standing against the fence looking right at her. No emotion on his face, nothing in his eyes; but she could feel his raging hunger and torment coming through his sand.

She was stuck once again, this time it was cage fight to the death. Anything goes, which meant this was his perfect chance to rip her heart out like he wanted too. Naruto and Sasuke would be at his mercy as well, if she could only find a way to be reasonable with him. But that was impossible; this is Gaara, the demon who killed with no remorse. She wanted to go to him, tell him it wasn't wrong to feel lonely, that it was natural and _human_. Maybe then he'd learn to make peace with himself and his inner turmoil.

_Get a grip Sakura; I have to do something about it!_

**How about getting out of this mess?**

_And how should I do that?_

**Look, here comes Naruto!**

Sakura turned her head and saw the blonde running to her, her face lightened up as she found her exit. She grabbed his wrist, to his surprise.

"Let's go turn in our paper's now."

She tried to move her legs, but they wouldn't budge. The sand pinned her foot to the ground.

"I know you can't resist me Sakura, but I think we should get going now."

"Do me a favor and run as fast as you can, that way."

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

The second he ran towards the signing booth, her feet were ripped away from Gaara's sand. It boiled in the spot before returning to its master. She checked back to see him walking towards his siblings. His eye slightly twitched, annoyed at the interruption. She couldn't rely on Naruto forever to be there to protect her, but she'd use the time she had with him to stay as far away from as possible Gaara.

**Are you sure this is what you want?**

_What are you talking?_

**I think there's something going on between you too.**

_A game of cat and mouse, that's what_

**I don't know, you seem pretty intent on wanting to help him. That would require you getting closer to him.**

_I don't need this right now._

Sakura blocked out her inner self and stood alongside her team mates as they readied themselves for the second part of the exams. The Forest of Death, even more powerful shinobis, and many other terrifying waited for them beyond the protection of the steel fences. The task was simple, retrieve the second scroll opposite the ones they have. Her team had the heaven scroll and the objective was to find a team with the Earth scroll. Each group waited for the signal to begin as they stood in front of the gates blocking them from the forest. There were no rules, anything and everything could happen.

Anko looked around, smirking at the outcome. The teams doubled from last year to her satisfaction. She lifted a whistle to her mouth and blew.

The exams began.

* * *

Temari peeked over at Kankuro, then at Gaara. She was worried and knew he had something on his mind, not knowing what it was scared her. Kankuro took notice as well.

"Temari, do you know where we're going?" He tried to whisper as soflty as possible.

"No, but apparently Gaara does. I have a bad feeling about this. He seemed all flustered when he got back last night; I hope everything's alright."

"What if he's looking for someone?"

"Quiet! I think he's listening to us, no more talking." She turned away from him and kept her eyes ahead of her.

Gaara didn't even bother trying to guess at what they were talking about, it the end it was always about him. He hated those two, and he wanted to kill them. But he knew he couldn't, at least not at the moment. But there will be a time when he'll have the pleasure of crushing them. Right now though, they were only useful in helping him settle down into his normal state after every killing, that's why he kept them alive. They didn't look at him like he was their brother, just an assignment the Kazekage laid out for them. He didn't, hardly anything mattered to him.

His senses picked up the scent of prey not too far. He turned his body and headed in that direction.

Temari bravely spoke out, "Gaara, we should try to find the Earth-"

"Don't talk to me."

She closed her mouth and remained silent.

They stopped on the branch of a fairly large tree and looked down. Three bodies were on the ground, they seemed to be forming a plan.

Kankuro spoke, "Do they have the scroll we need?"

"Yes." Was all Gaara said before descending down, followed by his siblings.

The rain shinobis stood up and faced the ninjas from sand. The atmosphere grew thick with tension, and epic battle was about to take place. From the shadows, three leaf shinobis hid behind tall shrubs and watched. This could work out to their advantage.

"This is awesome; one of those shinobis must have the scroll we need." Kiba grinned.

"K-Kiba, I d-don't like this."

Akamaru whined in agreement.

"Stay silent, we don't want to give our position away." Shino warned.

Back onto the battlefield, the leader of the rain group huffed in defiance, "The nerve of those sand brats to challenge us, how foolish of them."

"Are you going to talk us to death or fight?" Gaara said.

"Prepare to meet your maker!"

"Hey Gaara, what if they really don't have the scroll we need?" Kankuro piped up, "I thought we weren't going to fight until-"

"Shut up Kankuro or I'll kill you too."

He backed away and stood beside Temari.

"_Sabakukyu._"

**

* * *

**

I used a quote from the manga, for some authenticity.

**Ciao.**


	7. Chapter 7: Knowing Yourself

**I re-edit this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

They watched in horror as a nightmare was heading their way, a showcase of destruction was about to be played and they had front row seats to the show. None of them could afford to escape without giving away their position and jeopardize everything. Kiba shook his head and scrunched up his nose.

"Damn, this kid's chakra is immense, and his sand, it smells like…"

"Like what?" Shino asked.

"It reeks of…blood."

The rain shinobi grew impatient with Gaara and threw his umbrella into the air, starting off the fight with his raining needles jutsu. The umbrella's spiraled in the air, releasing thousands of needles that rained down on Gaara, but to his surprise; none of them touched him. The Rain shinobi stood back to examine the damage, but there was none except now Gaara was now shielded by his own sand. He stood back in surprise.

"Is that all?" He stood there, with hunger in his eyes. His sand began to rumble violently.

"What the hell, none of them touched him!"

"A down pour of a thousand needles…let me respond to that with a deluge of blood; _Sabakukyu: The Coffin of Crushing Sand._"

"Hey, what the hell is this!" He struggled against the sand, swiping at it, and doing whatever possible to get away; but it was too late.

It ultimately consumed him and surrounded him like a coffin, lifting him high into the air. His team mates watched in horror as their leader met his fatal doom. His umbrellas dropped onto the ground, all three landed next to Gaara. He grabbed one and it open as he raised his hand into the air, giving the rain shinobi one last look before clenching his fist. A rain of blood fell from the sky, not one speck touching him. He looked at the other two who had willing given them their scroll and tried to run off, but they met their demise just like their leader.

"Lucky we got the Heaven scroll," He picked it up and walked back over to them, "Now let's head over to the tower."

"Not yet," Gaara turned his attention to the bushes the leaf shinobi were hiding behind and raised his hand. They sensed this and shuddered in fear, "I'm still not satisfied."

"Come on Gaara, you may be able to fend for yourself, but Temari and I can't afford to take any chances, so let's go-"

"Be quiet, I don't take orders from the likes of you."

"That's enough Gaara, listen to your big brother for once."

"I've never thought of any of you as my siblings," He cast a sideways glance to Temari, "Never."

"Aren't I like a big sister to you? Come on please, let's just-Gaara!"

He held a vice grip, never letting go, until he opened it back up to reveal his gourd's cork, "If either of you two stand in my way again; I kill you both." Then walked past them.

Temari looked at Kankuro and sighed, following Gaara, while keeping her distant.

"Can we go now?" Shino asked, feeling somewhat nauseous.

Kiba nodded and patted Akamaru on the head, then ran off, followed by the other two. They were all shaken and scared of what they had to face.

* * *

Sakura could do nothing as Naruto and Sasuke both lied unconscious on the floor, both horribly ill and beaten. She was in no better condition herself, but had to stay awake and watch out for them. It had all been one big frightful blur, first an attack from a waterfall shinobi and then suddenly they were caught in a genjutsu, by that same female grass shinobi who turned out to be Orochimaru. After that horrible incident, they found Naruto, only he was knocked out cold and soon, Sasuke followed.

She shuddered at the memory of the horrible snake man and closed him off from her mind. She had a lot to think about and he wasn't going to be one of them. He bit Sasuke; hard, on the neck and left a terrible mark. Making him suffer horribly. She didn't know how to ease the pain, all she could do was keep him cool and wait. Naruto was in a bad condition; he was severely wounded and needed medical attention.

"I have to stay awake." She looked up into the sky, it was getting darker.

"It seems she's still alive and awake." The spying sound shinobi said.

"We'll see how long she can keep this up."

They strapped a tag to the back of a squirrel and let it loose. The tiny animal quickly scurried away from them and rushed to Sakura, who in turn threw a kunai at it. She was startled at first but relaxed a little, but kept her guard.

"She's more alert now." The female said.

"No, she's hiding something. She must have a plan and was worried the animal was going to give it away."

"Well then, let's pop in to check it out." Zaku snickered

Sakura could feel someone coming, three from the sound of their footsteps. Already, she could tell, they were far stronger than she was and had no chance against them. Her mind was racing, there was nothing she could so to stop them. She was completely drained of chakra and her comrades were out cold. And then they arrived; only yards away their chakra crushed down on her.

"Someone stayed up all night."

She faced her enemies. Two males and one female, they were the same ones who attacked Kabuto during the written exams. They looked fiercer outside the classroom.

"Alright we'll just cut to the chase; hand over Sasuke, or we'll take him with force."

"Not gonna happen!" The three sound shinobis looked amused, "If you want him you'll, come and get him!"

"Perfect."

"Wait Zaku," The sound shinobi who resembled a mummy lifted a patch of grass, "How amateur, did you honestly think that we would fall for this?" He chuckled and started to walk towards her until something snapped. A piece of string broke and suddenly a huge log fell from the sky, "Very funny," He blasted it away with ease, "You can't beat us, so just give up quietly like a good little girl."

"Never." Her voice dripped with poison.

"Then die."

He came right at her, intent on killing. Readying his sound device strapped to his arm, he was about to land a hard one right on her face, when something sprang up out of nowhere and kicking him and his team mates across the field.

"Who the hell was that?" The girl spat out.

"Konoha's very own handsome blue beast; Rock lee!"

The green tight wearing shinobi stood in front of Sakura, protecting her from danger. He glanced back at her and smiled.

"Lee…"

"I made a promise to you Sakura; I will protect you until I die!"

Sakura felt her heart swell up, she needed to do something. Even as powerful as he was, he was still no match for these guys.

"Show them how who they're messing with Dosu." Zaku smirked.

He charged right at Rock lee, who dodged him easily, proclaiming he had already seen this trick and knew exactly what to do to stop him. He glanced back at Sakura, seeing her in this state gave him the motivation to push himself even harder. He glared at Dosu and started to unravel the bandages around his arms.

"What are you doing there monobrow?"

_I'm defending the life of someone who means the world to me._

Suddenly he disappeared and reappeared in front of the Dosu, kicking him right in the chin, and sending him flying into the air. Like a flash, Rock lee was behind him in the air and grabbed him from behind, and soon his bandages started to wrap around each other. Sakura watched in amazement.

_My Lotus technique never fails! Even though this is the second time I've used it, I will not let you down Master Gai!_

After they were fully wrapped, they spun around and now were spiraling down into the earth, where the sound shinobi will meet his fate. Zaku panicked and quickly preformed a jutsu. He managed to stop Dosu from getting too hurt; Rock lee however suffered the side effects. His muscles were turning into mush and his chakra dropped significantly. Now he was stuck in a hard predicament. Just then, Dosu raced up to him and swung his sound appliance right next to his ear, obscuring his vision and hearing. He turned to Sakura, ready to do the same, but Rock lee blocked it just in time, kicking him away; only to injure himself even more. He doubled over onto his side.

"That is the effect of Sound. Something you leaf maggots would never understand the power of."

Sakura couldn't take it anymore; she couldn't stand by and let someone she cared about suffer anymore. She arose and charged at him, throwing multiple shurikens at him, only to have them fly back at her by Zaku's wind pipes.

"Enough of this, Kin, finish this little bitch off."

"With pleasure," Kin smirked and grabbed her hair, waving her head back and forth, "Oh, what beautiful hair you have, such shine and bounce, what jutsu is this, the art of conditioning? How pathetic you are to concentrate more on your looks rather than your skills, it's no wonder you're so weak. What a disgrace to all shinobis, maybe if you trained harder maybe you could get your skills at level with your hair!"

Tears started to swell in her eyes, everything she said were true. She was a disgrace and a failure. It didn't matter if she was a kunoichi, a leaf shinobi for Konoha; she was worthless. How could she call herself a true shinobi when all she did was fond over Sasuke and only paid attention to her looks? It didn't matter if she had the better chakra control, or the brains. She couldn't do anything, except watch everyone she loved fall right before her eyes.

She looked over at Naruto and Sasuke, they both counted on her and she failed them.

_Naruto…Sasuke…I'm so sorry._

Then her eyes fell onto Rock lee and her heart dropped. He wasn't even on her team and yet he fought for her, defended her when she couldn't even stand up for herself.

_I'm just a burden to them, I'm absolutely useless. I always have to have someone protect me but I could never do the same for them. Naruto, Sasuke, and even you Lee…you all would do anything to protect me from anything I just stood back and watched. I thought I was different, I thought I could be someone…you guys…I can't just sit back anymore; I will fight for all of you!_

Sakura pulled out a kunai, Kin noticed this and smirked.

"You're stupid tricks won't work on me."

"This isn't for you."

Everyone watched in shock as Sakura took the kunai up and sliced off her hair.

Hiding cowardly behind several bushes, another group watched everything in amazement; one person in particular took it all too hard.

"Ino what do we do know?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shut up I don't know! Why are you even asking me?"

"She's your friend isn't she?"

Ino watched as the little shy Sakura she once knew, disappear under the shadow of this new kunoichi.

It was like a dream, a nightmare mixed into a blossoming dream. Courage and strength mixed together to form the flower that dared to bloom. As Kin fell back, Sakura rose up with fire in her eyes. She looked at all three sound shinobis, intent on revenge.

_Now it is your turn to watch my back._

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Ciao


	8. Chapter 8: Patience

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

It all went by so quickly, everything and everyone was moving against time. It didn't even seem like a whole week had passed. After Sakura had finally mustered up the courage to fight back against the sound shinobi, the other team consisting of Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji decided to help out; if only for a while. They were all still no match for them, until Sasuke finally woke up. Only, he had strange marks all over the side of his face. He looked dark and menacing, even his voice had an evil tone. He broke Zaku's arm, and could have done more if Sakura hadn't stopped him. She couldn't stand seeing him act like monster. It scared her, she was afraid to lose him.

How could Orochimaru leave such a vile thing on Sasuke? She needed get out of the forest and find Kakashi before things got out of hand. They all made it to the tower in less than one piece, if it they hadn't been attacked why the waterfall shinobis, then maybe they wouldn't be looking so terrible.

"We're finally here." Sakura helped Sasuke up as she pulled out the scroll.

"Let's open it now!" Naruto exclaimed.

Once they did, something popped out and to their surprise; it was Iruka. They were all flabbergasted until he started explaining everything to them about the chuunin exams, opening up whole new light to the world of the shinobi; at least to Sakura it meant something.

And before they knew it, more teams were coming in and soon they all had to line up when the Hokage had shown up. They all listened to what he had to say before they took the final part of the exam to move on the grand finale.

* * *

Gaara wasn't the least bit interested in what their village leader had to say, nothing mattered to him. He already knew he was going to win no matter what; no one in the room equaled in is power. Gaara glanced over to the pink haired girl just two rows away from him and noticed how worried he looked. Then he realized it was because of the Uchiha boy. He grew angry. He spied on her most of the time during their stay in the forest of death. Even when she took care of him, he still treated her like trash. If there was ever a chance to fight him, he would make the boy pay dearly.

He noticed the change in her. Before the exam, her body was a little plumper and she was tense most of the time. Now she was thinner and more confident. And with her hair short, it gave him a perfect view of her neck. He couldn't wait to make his mark on it

The Uchiha boy suddenly grabbed her hand and whispered incoherent things to her. He clenched his fist, desperate to punch him in the face. The boy had no right to touch what was his. He'll make sure the Uchiha boy never lives to touch her again.

She looked over at him, and kept his gaze. Never turning away, they started at each other for what seemed like ages. Her mouth moved, trying to say something but what overcastted by the Hokage. He wanted to hear her voice; he wanted to hear her say his name. Her body didn't tense up like it normally did when she saw him, now she seemed at ease with him. Though he still sensed a bit of fear, it was dwindling. Her exposure to the reality of being a shinobi and the bloody truth, made her all the more delectable in his eyes.

As soon as the Hokage stopped talking, she averted her eyes and followed her team mates into the stands. Everyone was anxious to see who they would be up against.

The Uchiha boy was up first, and he was battling some freak named Akado Yoroi. To his amusement, he watched as Yoroi sucked in Sasuke's chakra. He looked about ready to lose.

"Uchiha Sasuke, is this all he can do?"

But something happened and he could see the horror in Sakura's face when Sasuke started change. Strange black markings began to cover the side of his face and somehow gave him a surge of chakra.

"_Shishirendan: Barrage of Lion!"_

He defeated Yoroi with ease.

Hayate moved over to the two and placed a hand on Akado's head.

"The winner is Uchiha Sasuke."

A loud squealing noise came over from the other side; an obnoxious blonde girl was jumping up and down and shouting in the air. He wanted to kill her; everyone in the village was annoying.

They quickly moved on, next was Shino going up against the bastard who hurt Sakura, Zaku. The sound kid was cocky and no match for the bug master and his minions of beetles exploding out from his hands. The next battle his own brother against Tsurugi Misumi, he didn't even need to guess who the winner would be. He used his infamous puppet; the scarecrow against the opponent, ending the battle in an unorthodox manner.

He was growing impatient, three battles already and he was hungry for some carnage of his own, the demon rumbled with excitement. He wanted to see Sakura fight as well, to see what she was made of and if she had enough strength to battle even him.

And to his excitement, she was up next. Fighting against the annoying blonde he wanted to slaughter.

"Yamanaka Ino verses Haruno Sakura."

Both ladies jumped down, the air was tense and everyone was up against the rails. Everyone was looking forward to see the two former best friends fight. Sakura, having gained some new confidence, made it clear to Ino that Sasuke belonged with her and he would never be interested in something as annoying as her. She charged at Sakura and the battle began.

Sakura started off with shadow clones of herself, all charging at Ino and managing to get good punches at her. After that, it was evenly matched. They both had the same equal amount of chakra, the same speed, and same techniques. It looked like it was going to drag on. The possibility of a winner was very slim. Sakura said something that pushed Ino cutting off her ponytail. Shikamaru and Choji were shocked.

Then the battle continued on again. They ran at each other until Sakura suddenly stopped. She was stuck in a jutsu, both girls went unconscious. Finally Sakura awakened, but acting strangely. She grinned slyly, looked over at the exam conductor, and raised her hand.

"I, Haruno Sakura, would like to withdraw from this match."

"What!" The loud mouth Naruto nearly jumped off the rail, "Sakura, you can't do this!"

She looked over at him and smirked. The fool didn't realize she was trapped in a jutsu. Gaara waited to see the outcome.

"Fight it Sakura! You've come so far, don't let that crazy Sasuke chaser win or else you'll be a disgrace to all women!"

With all the yelling from Naruto, Sakura suddenly started clutching and shaking her head. She was knocked down and so was the Ino girl. They both slide back far apart.

"What the hell was that?" Ino cried out.

"If you ever do that again; I'll beat you to a pulp!"

"So…then you aren't withdrawing?" The conductor asked.

"Of course not, I still have to win!"

"You don't have to yell at me. Let the match continue."

Sakura and Ino glared at each other. This was it, the finale one that'll decide their fate. They both raced at each other, their fist ready to knock out the other, and collided. Both girls hit like two thunderbolts, the outcome was not good. The conductor looked at them both and then to their teachers.

"It's a draw; neither are able to continue as a result of simultaneous knockouts. Neither will move on."

"What!" Naruto seethed.

So this was it then, Sakura didn't move on to the next round to his disappointment. But she did put up an excellent fight. He watched as her teacher set her gently against the wall next to the Ino girl, they were both still unconscious and probably will be for a while.

_You've done well Sakura._

To his utter dismay, he wasn't up next and he was getting more restless by the minute. His sister was up, against a girl named Tenten. She looked like a worthy opponent for Temari; if she could last for more than ten seconds. However the fight ended rather quickly; with Temari obviously winning. No mere weapons could easily defeat her devastating fan jutsu

"Up next; Nara Shikamaru and Tsuchi Kin."

The Nara kid looked bored out of his mind and not too pleased to be going up against a girl. Kin seemed over confident just like her previous team mate; her pride would be her downfall. At first she seemed to be winning; until the Nara kid pulled a few tricks out of his sleeves. He was smarter than anyone had predicted, he used his shadow clone jutsu to trap the girl from the shadows of her strings and knocked her unconscious from hitting a wall while bending backwards.

He was itching to fight. There was already a fair amount of people who had already went and yet it felt like ages before they could get to him. If his name wasn't called next, he'd lose his mind.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba."

_Fucking hell._

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Ciao


	9. Chapter 9: Revolution

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Sakura watched from above as Naruto made his way down onto the stadium to face off Kiba. She was nervous for him, not only because he was going up against a very strong opponent, but if he lost, then there was no way for him to compete with Sasuke. She had let herself down, but she wouldn't let Naruto disappoint himself.

He looked up at her and smiled, "Watch me okay Sakura? I'll make you proud!"

She smiled back, "Don't you always?"

Naruto gave her a thumbs up and turned to face Kiba; both men looked ready to pulverize each other's brains out.

"Don't worry; I'll knock you out quickly to save you the humiliation." Kiba chuckled.

"Pfft, right back at ya."

Sakura stood on the very edge, standing right on her tiny tippy toes, trying to get a better view of everything. Everyone was restless, and all the other shinobis who hadn't fought yet were growing impatient. Which reminded her; Gaara hadn't fought yet. Her eyes never left the floor, but she could feel from a distance him watching her, looking at her like she was some fresh meat on display.

Something inside her propelled her to look up. Her eyes moved from the floor, to the wall, and finally; him. He wasn't just looking at her, but into her very soul. She could tell he enjoyed watching her fight, watching her struggle for her life. It must have disappointed him when she lost, but that didn't concern her. What did was what he would do now since she had failed. She wouldn't be surprised if he came to visit her again to teach her a lesson, like she was some pet.

But not anymore, if she could push herself into becoming the better person she is now, then Gaara's torments meant nothing.

Hayate looked at both genins before raising his hand, "Begin!"

Kiba started off with his mimic jutsu, transforming Akamaru into a clone of himself, they both came at Naruto like hungry beasts. Thrashing and throwing him aside. On top of all his previous injuries, he was getting badly beat up. Sakura gripped the rail and kept her eyes close on him. Kiba grinned maliciously.

"He's such a loser; he can't stand up to me."

Rock lee and Kakashi were by her side, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Come on Naruto, I know you can do this!" She called out.

He looked up at her and back at Kiba, "Don't underestimate me."

"Tough talk for a loser!"

The battle was intense; Kiba threw everything he had at Naruto. His forms and attacks were like no other, Sakura was astounded by the performance of both Kiba and Akamaru. Naruto had a hard time fighting back, especially when he was attacked with the _Gatsuuga: fang over fang _jutsu. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the fight; her eyes were glued on him. Naruto dropped to the floor like a sack of rocks, blood pouring out of this mouth. Kiba was degrading Naruto, and worst of all; tearing him apart with his dream of becoming Hokage. This must have pushed him to the limit because when he got up; he ripped his heart out and threw it out on the floor. He came at Kiba like an animal, using a doppelganger to confuse both Kiba, gaining the advantage.

Kiba knocked what he thought was Naruto but turned out to be Akamaru, making it easier for Naruto to fight. This was it, the final hit that will determine the winner. Kiba snuck up from behind and tried to land in for a hit; until Naruto farted. There was giggling in the satidum, but it was Naruto's the chance to end the fight.

"Land one on him, Naruto!" Sakura shouted.

He quickly created several shadow, all coming at Kiba, with one thing in mind; winning.

"_Naruto Barrage!_"

He sent Kiba flying into the air before landed back onto the ground.

"And the winner is Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura immediately ran over to the stairs and into his arms, she hugged him tightly. It felt nice to have someone warm and recognizable around her. She looked up to his bloody and bruised up face and smiled, proud of his determination. They walked up the stairs to meet with the others, unaware of glaring and gazing eyes.

* * *

It would be an understatement to say he was angery. Jealousy he had never felt before surged through his body. She ran into his arms like they were meant for each other. He had never been jealous his entire life, he had always gotten what he wanted, and now, when there was only one thing he wanted most in the world; he couldn't have it. He wanted her. She was more than just a toy, she was a living doll. He wanted to play with her, tear her into pieces then, and put her back together just to do it all over again.

He wanted to see his precious Sakura spiraling down an endless tunnel until she had no one else but to him. They would be together always; she wouldn't leave him like everyone else did. He'd never be alone again.

"We're moving on to the next match."

His mind snapped back into reality, hopefully he was up next; he needed to vent out his frustration.

"Hyuga Hinata verses Hyuga Neji."

He mentally punched the air and almost lost control. Standing around and watch unsatisfying matches was unbearable. It was the same thing over and over again; two people who always rivaled each other take out their hatred in this battle. Nothing ever new happened.

The timid girl Hinata walked onto the battle grounds followed by the prideful Neji. Apparently, this Neji seemed to have deep grudge against the girl from the way he glared at her and the edginess in his body. After their little introduction, the match began.

Neji used his _byakugan, _intimidating the girl. But she stood her ground and began their fight. They were evenly matched out, wherever one would hit, the other would block. It was similar to Sakura and Ino's match, but these Hyugas; they displayed power beyond everyone else that had fought before them. The power of their eyes was unbelievable.

Hinata lightly punched Neji on the chest, making him skid back. Suddenly, he landed a palm right where heart was and finger jabbed her arm. Hinata coughed up blood, landing everywhere. Just the color sent Gaara off the wall. The idiot Naruto nearly jumped off the rail if it weren't for his master holding him back. Even the bystanders were becoming intense.

"So this is the best the main branch can come up with? Pathetic."

Hinata tried to land another hit at Neji, but he grabbed her arm and jabbed a pressure point causing her to cough even more blood and rendering her helpless. She was paralyzed and her fate rested in his hands. It was looking very grim, but Gaara was enjoying it.

He hit her one last time, sending her flying. He turned his back to her, assuming she was defeated; until she started to stand up. She was brave and persistent, coming right at him. They fought all over again; they looked like dancers from their graceful yet deadly movements, one attack right after the other. His final hit was a tap to her chest, she collapsed and fell.

Everyone thought this was it; she had to be down by now. But no, she arose once again, but this time there was a different look in her eyes, it looked like pity.

"Stay down, it's over. It's taking all your strength just to stand up. You're burdened with the destiny of the main branch; you punish yourself for your weak and fragility. But you need not suffer anymore, be at peace and let destiny take over. You have lost."

"No big brother," Hinata breathed heavily, her lungs weakening from every breath she took, "You are the one who's suffering, torn between the destines of the main and cadet branch of our clan."

He grew furious and came raging at her.

"Neji the fight is over, stand your ground!"

But he didn't listen; he wanted to silence the failure who dared to insult him. Three jonins appeared and stopped him right before he hit Hinata. She collapsed seconds later and was immediately rushed to the hospital. Gaara watched as Naruto jumped down and yelled at Neji; they glared at each other as Naruto vowed something with the blood of Hinata.

"If you don't mind, we'd like to move on to the next round."

Everyone left the floor, Naruto grumbled and jumped back to Sakura's side. She was angry too, her fury made her all the more interesting to look at. Gaara watched her as she comfort and stood close to the boy in green spandex.

Then their eyes met again, but this time she held the gaze instead of looking away. She mumbled something, it looked like something along the lines of '_next battle._'

"Gaara verses Rock lee."

_Finally!_

He wasted no time disappearing in his sand and reappearing on the battle ground

"Don't keep me waiting."

* * *

Sakura couldn't tear her eyes away from him even when he vanished into his sand and appeared on the battle grounds. His eyes looked hungry for blood; he must have been on the brink of insanity from all the waiting. She reluctantly tore away her eyes to Rock lee.

"Please be careful, watch over yourself."

He flashed his famous smile, "To know that you are worried about me Sakura, it gives me great strength. Please watch as I fight with the power of youth!"

She nodded her head and watched as he jumped down to face Gaara.

"I hope I have not kept you waiting."

"..."

Hayate looked at both, slightly taken back at Gaara, "Let the match begin."

"_Konoha Hurricane!_"

Rock Lee ran at Gaara, trying to land a kick right at him, but his indestructible sand blocked his attack. No matter where he tried to land an attack or how fast he went, the sand would continuously stop him. He jumped back and landed on a giant statue.

"Master Gai, if I may ask for your permission to take them off, I know you told me to do it only when I am defending someone, but I feel that I must remove them now!"

"It's alright lee!" His master said , "You can take them off!"

Rock lee lifted up his leg warmers, exposing heavy looking weights and unstrapped them, letting them fall to the floor with a deafening boom.

"Now I can move freely."

Temari smirked, _Fool do you honestly think that dropping those weights will allow you to defeat Gaara?_

He shot off the statue like a bullet, to everyone's surprise; he was so fast not even Gaara could catch up with him. Coming up from behind, he almost landed a punch, but the sand blocked him. He continued his attack, one right after the other and coming closer each time, slowly breaking through his sand. Suddenly, he appeared behind Gaara, leaped into the air a landed a hard kick to his head.

Everyone was stunned, especially Sakura. She felt something pull at her heart; something she thought she could only feel for those precious to her. She was worried about Gaara, he was hurt and she actually cared. She didn't know what was happening to her, but watching them fight; she could only think of Gaara getting hurt. Guilt started to take over because she was also worried about Rock lee.

Rock lee kept his attack coming, hitting Gaara in the face several times, and knocking him slightly off his feet. He zigzagged from every corner, and kicked him in the face; sending him flying.

There was silence as everyone waited for something to happen.

Suddenly there was a maniacal laughing coming from Gaara; Sakura became frightened, afraid to see what he was going to do. He turned around and looked at Rock lee with sadistic eyes. A shell of sand was cracking and falling off his face.

_I know he was becoming more and more unstable during the chuunin exams, but this is just too far out. His usual emotionless composure was created from his sand protection but now, everyone can see who he really is._

Kankuro gripped the rails nervously.

Sakura didn't know what to say or what to feel, he was laughing like a psychopath. If this was how he really was then she was in deep trouble, her life had already ended.

His sand slowly reformed around his face, hiding his inner maniac. His placid and callous face was back. He was going to torture the bastard then destroy him.

Rock lee saw the killer within Gaara's eyes and knew just what to do. He would end this fight with the same move he used in the Forest of Death. He unraveled his bandage straps and went after Gaara, kicking him up into the air and coming up from behind to grab him, wrapping him completely with his bandages. They flipped upside down and headed straight to the ground.

"_Forward Lotus!_"

They crashed with the sound of thunder; the entire stadium shook and quickly settled down. Rock lee successfully made it out just in time and watched from a distant as the smoke cleared up, Gaara laid in the center with his eyes closed.

Sakura put a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping. She wanted him to move. When the smoke cleared up all she saw was a body without a face. It was another shell and it was breaking apart into sand.

"What's happening?"

Then she noticed something growing behind Rock lee.

Kankuro looked fearful, _Shit it's fully awake._

Gaara appeared before Rock lee and summoned a sea of sand at him, slamming him into the wall, thrashing him from side to side like a rag doll.

"Why isn't lee fighting back?"

"The Lotus is a double edged sword," Gai commented.

"It's really supposed to be a forbidden move," Kakashi glanced over at Gai, "Using such a high level jutsu puts too much strain on the users body, which means he's now a pile of messed up bones and a mass of pain."

She watched helplessly as Rock lee was thrown back and forth like a rag doll. He couldn't fight back and it was tearing her apart. She wanted to hate Gaara for doing this to him, she wanted to get down there and give him a taste of his own medicine.

"Stop it please!"

Her voiced reached him somehow through all the mass and rumble and stopped his attack, pulling back and looking up at her. Her eyes were full of tears, but she wouldn't let them fall. She watched him grip his head in pain as he fell to his knees. Memories of his twisted and troubled past came back to haunt him. He was hurting him from the inside, she didn't know what was wrong, but all she cared at the moment was Rock Lee. He looked up at her with a pleading look. He was asking with his eyes for her to save him from himself. She put up her shaking hands.

"I'm sorry," Was all she could say before she turned his attention back to Rock lee.

He sent his sand out at him and crushed his right leg and arm; he could have done more damage if his master hadn't stopped the fight. Gaara glared at the man and returned to his place beside his siblings, but not before looking at Sakura one last time.

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Ciao


	10. Chapter 10: Knowing the Truth

**I re-edited everything to the best of my abilities.**

**I screwed up big time, basically I accidnetally replaced Chapter ten with the wrong document, meaning some things changed, and on top of that I don't have the original copy of chapter 10. But I guess its okay since it still sort of makes sense :[ please bear with me as try to fix everything.**

**The last chapter just ended with the end of the exams and everyone went on that one month training thing. The first day starts in this chapter.**

**Enjoy.**

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He watched her day and night, examining her every movements and how she acted with others. Her smile glowed with each new person she met, and her eyes softened whenever someone mentioned the Uchiha boy. She was still thinking about him, which made him sick with envy. It was hard adjusting to the emotions raging through him all at once. Every time he tried to shut everything out, her face would always appear in his head.

Her beautiful, haunting face would torture him day and night, knowing she'd never choose him. Her kindness was just in her nature. She treated everyone like this; like they pawns in the game called _life._ The demon growled, feeding his mind more negative and dark thoughts. She needed to die and he wanted to it end. Her blood will run down his hands as he pulls her heart out and crush it.

However, there was a part of him that wanted her to live and stay by his side. His human side, the one that was less insane and more attuned to his emotions. His pruned heart would thump loudly every time he said her name; it rolled off his tongue so perfectly. She was missing puzzle piece he was searching for; she would be the one to save him. They hadn't made any contact for a while, except for the occasional whisper he would say to her before she went to sleep.

What he wouldn't do just to feel normal for a day, walk about the streets like everyone else. Instead he had to hide from the world and conceal who he truly was. It was becoming harder every day, to resist her. He had never been so obsessed with a human.

She would come to fear and love him. She would hate his existence and he would relish in it. But at the same time, he didn't want to feel anything, especially love. It was impossible for a monster to love anything.

"Alright I'll see you later!" Sakura waved farewell to her friends walked off in a different direction.

Silently in the shadows, he followed her every footsteps; never looking away. He could have snatched her up right then and there, killing her in front of all these people. But like always, there was something stopping him. Curiosity and attachment prevented him from doing anything. So instead, all he could do for a while was torture her.

* * *

Sakura walked to the Ramen shack, hoping to find Naruto there, but to avail. She was disappointed; she hadn't seen him or Sasuke in days, even Kakashi was gone.

She was tired of running around looking for everyone; they all disappeared and left her behind. There was nothing left for her to do except train for next year. It was lonely walking by herself, everyone was gone and she hadn't heard any news about anything for a while. Even Gaara had disappeared.

The last time she say him, he ran away from her and disappeared into the night. After that, there was no sign of him. He stopped everything; all his marks had vanished, leaving no trail behind. It was sad to say, but she was actually missing him. She wanted to talk to him and get to know who he really was. She wanted to know what caused him so much pain.

"Where are you?"

She was disappointed and started walking home. There were plenty of people out and they all seemed to be in a hurry. Everyone looked like blurs, zooming past her with unrecognizable faces. The streets were crowded and it was impossible to walk past someone without bumping into them.

"Hey watch it,"

Sakura stepped back, recognizing his face. Kankuro, she remembered him from the exams.

"Sorry," She bowed lightly and tried to make her way when he grabbed her arm. She looked back and saw him grinning at her.

"Hey I remember you."

"Is that so?" She tried to pull her arm away but he kept his hold.

"You're that Sakura girl who fought the blonde; and lost." He chuckled.

She became irritated, "I didn't lose; it was a draw." She finally yanked her arm away.

"You're cute when you're angry."

"Um, I'm going to go now," Sakura turned to walk away, but he jumped in front of her, "What do you want?"

"You know since I'm staying here in the village, how about you and I hang out for a little bit?"

Her eye twitched, "Not interested."

"Aw, come on," He inched in closer to her.

He was bigger than her, so fighting back wasn't going to help. But she had to try something, she raised her hands up to push him away, until sand interfered and blocked the two. Sakura was too stunned to move. Kankuro, however, became very frightened and his face became pale. He kept backed up until he hit a wall.

"Stay away from her," Gaara's menacing voice reached her ears.

He suddenly appeared and stood in front of her, glaring at his older brother.

"I-I'm sorry Gaara, I was only fooling around." Kankuro's voice was shaking.

"Not with her."

"Yes Gaara." He quickly scurried away, not wanting to deal with the wrath of his younger brother.

Her heart was fluttering; he was so close. She never expected him to be so protective of her.

"Thank you."

"Excuse my brother; he can be foolish at times."

"It's alright; I should have paid attention to where I was going."

He leaned in close to her ear, breathing against her skin, "Be careful next time," Then disappeared in his shroud of sand.

She let out a breath of air she was holding in and hurried away home, careful not to bump into anymore people.

* * *

He had to stop himself from getting too attached, he shouldn't be surprised that people wanted her, she was beautiful and naïve; an easy prey for anyone. Even his good for nothing brother wanted her. No one was ever allowed to touch what was his.

"What is happening to me?"

**You're getting soft boy, she's making you soft.**

_This needs to end._

**Then end her life.**

He didn't know if she should listen to the demon, everything it said always related to death. But he did want to end it. Tonight, he would end it all. She was changing him, morphing him into a useless human being.

But he didn't know if he had the strength to eliminate her. He could have done it numerous times, but he chose to let her go, he let her live. She was the only person to ever make him think twice about killing. He was changing, and didn't know if he liked it. His head was ripping in half, one minute he wanted her and the next he was ready to tear her into shreds. It was the fear of rejection driving him wild; he had seen the way she looked at everyone else, it was different with him. He didn't understand.

He need to know.

* * *

I was night, the perfect time to go out and hunt. His favorite toy was lying on her bed, reading some parchments. He watched her for a while; she looked concentrated on her work and unaware of his presence.

"Sakura…"

Sakura looked up from reading and outside the window. Her heart was thumping wildly in her chest, it must have been him. She got up and closed her window tightly and covered it with her curtains.

The night was eerie now, she was more cautious than before and her senses were always on alert. She made her way back to the bed, and went back to reading. She didn't hear the footsteps slowly making their way to her door, and stopped right outside, and then there was a loud bang.

She shrieked and fell off her bed, hitting her head on the table.

"Honey? It's me, I just wanted to tell you I'm leaving now and won't be back until tomorrow."

She breathed in and out, steadying her heart, "Okay mom, see you later."

"Dinner's in the fridge, I made you some teriyaki and dango for desert."

"Thanks, bye mom."

"Good night dear." She left her door and disappeared downstairs. She heard the door open and close, indicating that she was now alone in the house.

"I need to relax." Sakura got up and left her room, heading towards the kitchen.

Every light in her house was turned on, even the ones in her bathroom. She quickly grabbed her dinner and rushed back into her room. Half way to her room; all the lights suddenly went off.

"Oh god..."

She kicked open the door and laid her food on the table as she lit every candle in her room.

Suddenly the window behind her burst open and all the candles went out. Red sand began to make its way to her. It wrapped around her neck, arms and legs, bringing her down to her knees. Someone stepped into her room, silently making their way towards her.

"Gaara,"

"Scared?"

She looked him in the eyes and shook her head, "No."

"You should be."

He set down his gourd and commanded his sand to place her on the bed. He sat next to her, pushing away the hair on her face. Then his lips found hers. They were gentle at first, but soon it turn into hunger as he became more possessive. The sand pushed her closer to him as they released her arms. She didn't know why, but her arms snaked around his neck. His hands made her way to her waist and lingered there for a while.

His tongue licked her rosy lips, making her gasp is surprise, giving him access into her mouth. She tasted even sweeter on the inside. He enjoyed killing others, he enjoyed feeling the blood run down his hands, but they were nothing compared to what he was feeling now. She was so sweet, like a mixture of blood and honey, an exotic sensation running through his body, and she wasn't even fighting back. His greedy, sadistic side began to emerge, he wanted more. He wanted to do more.

The monster stealing the most precious thing from a flower, it made it all the more fun.

Their tongues danced to a dangerous tune until she had to let go for air, her lips were swollen and slightly red. They looked all the more delicious. He bit down on her bottom lip, making her moan in pleasure. He let go and looked at her half lidded eyes for a second. Her voice gave him a sudden demonic urge, he felt something hard stir within him; and liked it. She was so tempting and tasted delicious; he wanted her to do it again, but louder.

Sakura didn't know what came over her; the moan escaped her throat, she couldn't hold it back. It didn't matter now, it felt good. His hands tore off her dress and threw it aside. All that was left was her undergarments. For some reason, she didn't feel exposed, like it was only natural to feel this way around him. Her inner self was screaming at her for being such a fool, they were too young. But she feel like a child, and shut everything out.

He pushed her down on her back, holding her hands above her head and hovered over her. He stared her down, looking her right in the eyes with a sadistic smirk. His prized jewel was lying before him, not even trying to escape. His hand slithered its way up her chest and wrapped itself around her throat. It was light and frail, like a feather, easy to snap. He then gripped her hair and bent her head back as he went in for the kill. He bit down hard on her neck, leaving a deep imprint on her skin. She arched her back in a beautiful way and groaned out his name.

"Ah…Gaara,"

She sent him over the edge; it was like taking meth and acid. An explosion of animalistic hunger overpowered him. Never in his wildest imagination, has he ever imagines a pleasure greater than death.

"Sakura," He chewed on her neck, "You belong to me."

Her mind was too clouded to respond, but she heard everything perfectly. He possessed her all over, she wanted to fight back but couldn't. He overpowered her in every way, and it was making her mad.

"Please…"

He smirked and lifted his head, side glancing at her, "Please what?"

"Don't,"

"You can't stop me,"

His hand pulled off the rest of her bra, exposing even more of her naked flesh. The demon inside clawed at his skull, it wanted to play with the girl as well.

**Share the feast won't you?**

He was selfish, not even the demon could have her. This body belonged to him. He reached for a candle and dripped the hot wax onto her skin, watching her squirm under his body. It burned her, but at the same time she felt a sick pleasure coursing through her. The wax slide down her chest and onto her abdomen; it felt euphoric. Her mind was being shattered into pieces just from one touch, in her dreams she had always imagined doing something like this with Sasuke if they ever married, but now everything changed with Gaara.

"Gaara,"

He stopped what he was doing sat straight up.

She crawled back against her head board, "Do you love me?"

He was completely taken off guard, he was too stunned to speak and she could read it on his face. She pulled her blanket over herself and continued.

"I can't explain it, but you mean more to me than Sasuke ever could."

"Why?"

"Because you and I are the same, we're both looking for the missing piece, and I think we've found it. Every time I look into your eyes, I feel the same pain." She turned her head.

He grasped her chin, "What?"

"I can't explain it, but I care about you."

His head started to hurt again, and this time the pain felt ten times worse. He got off the bed and fell to his knees. Sakura stood on the floor next to him, helpless in this situation. She could only watch as he cried out in agony.

"Gaara, what's happening?"

"Stay away from me," He hissed out, his eyes turned an acid yellow.

"Tell me what's wrong," She reached out to him, but he grabbed her wrist, squeezing it roughly.

"You don't know me, you'll never understand," He looked up at her, ready to kill, "You're just like them all; my brother, my sister, even my father. You'll betray me like them."

"I would never do that to you."

"Liar!" He got up, still holding on to her wrist, "Stay away from me."

His gourd appeared on his back and the red sand covering her room consumed him like a wave as he let go of her wrist, vanishing into the night. Sakura got up and walked to the window, holding her palm her to heart. Tears streamed down her face, she let everything out and it still wasn't enough. His fear was holding him back; he couldn't change until he learned to trust her.

"I'll show you Gaara, I could love you."

**

* * *

**

Ciao.


	11. Chapter 11: Pain

**I re-edited everything to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

_

* * *

_

She was running like there was so tomorrow, through thick snow and blistering winds. It was freezing, but she didn't care, all she knew was that she had to get away. Sakura looked behind her and all she could see was the black darkness that consumed everything coming after her. Everywhere she turned, it became harder and harder for her to breathe, something was holding her back from reaching the light. In this world of black and white, she could either escape from the darkness or be engulfed by it.

_But then he'd be there, alone and crying._

_She'd seen that red hair before, and she had watched those tears fall once. He was so sad, and so lonely. It hurt to know that someone in this world could be abandoned so easily. She carefully made her way towards him and sat next to his side, resting her head on his shoulder._

"_Why are you crying?"_

"_I have no one."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because the world hates me."_

"_I don't."_

_He lifted up his head and looked at her with those watery jade eyes she loved so much; she could see through his shell that he was a lost child. He was so vulnerable and weak on the inside, that it made him cruel and harsh on the outside. She smiled at him and kissed him lightly on the forehead._

"_Sakura,"_

"_Hm?"_

_He wrapped his arms around her, and brought her into a tight hug. He started to sob into her chest, everything pouring out of him like a waterfall. His cry was a melody of dying doves. Soon his heart will shatter he'll finally realize that he was never truly alone._

"_Don't leave me; stay with by my side forever."_

_She stroked his hair softly, "Let's go."_

"_He won't let me."_

"_Who?"_

_He pointed up without looking, too afraid to even think about it. She looked up and stared into the giant yellow eyes of a grinning demon. Suddenly, the air became thick and heavy with the presence of evil; this vile thing lived inside Gaara and haunted him. It wouldn't stop and it would never quit, not it all but consumes him. The darkness started reaching, dragging them to hell. But she didn't care, as long as she was with him. The monster couldn't get her, because she wouldn't give up hope. He needed her, and she needed him._

"_Gaara, I won't leave you, I'll never leave you."_

The alarm clock went off. She groaned and looked up, throwing a pillow at the thing.

"Morning already?"

She got out of bed and stepped on something rough. To her horror, it was the red sand, and it was all over her floor. Gaara had left it there, possibly to watch over her. But she couldn't help feeling uneasy. He was everywhere, no matter where she escaped too; he'd always be watching.

Yet somehow, she also felt safer knowing he was out there. Even when he hated her, or wanted her dead, he'd still be there to protect her. She'd seen the look in his eyes whenever he was around, even though they were angry most of the time, she'd look right past them and into his lonely soul

What she said to him last night; she meant it, all of it. No matter what he did or who he killed, she'd always be by his side, even if that fateful day when he'd show her his true self; she would never run away. It wasn't pit; Sakura truly cared for him. It hurt to think that he was incapable to love another, especially her, even when she had been so bold enough to be honest with him. She couldn't be just a toy to him anymore; he let down his guard and slipped to his vulnerable side. She had to be even more courageous and confront him.

"I hope it works."

"Sakura?" Her mother was outside her door, "Breakfast is ready."

"Alright, give me fifteen minutes."

_What happened?_

* * *

He ran through the Forest of Death like a madman, trying to escape from anything and everything that reminded him of her. She had to be lying, no one loved him, and no one cared for him. She was just toying with his mind. She was just like him, his uncle; whom he thought loved him. He spoke lies as well. She was a false hope; she has poisoned him with it. By the time the night ended, it would all fade away.

Everywhere he looked; there was only in escapable darkness. There was something holding him back, it was the side that truly wanted to be human, the side that truly did want to believe in her words. He didn't understand what this all meant, everything was getting out of hand.

"I hate you; like I hate myself."

She didn't love him, she couldn't. Sakura didn't even know who he was; Gaara of the Desert, the grim reaper of red sand. He only brought death to others, and yet he still couldn't bring it to her. She was like the angel of life in his eyes, a bloody angel with the hands of god. Her beauty was too alluring, it was tempting him.

Last night, he didn't know what came over him; something demonic and evil emerged. But it felt good, even better than killing people to his surprise. She looked beautiful arching her back, and whispering his name into his ear. Gaara shook his head, clearing such thoughts out. If he became anymore attached, it would mean trouble for the both of them. He had to end it all, but it was hard when her words kept echoing in his ear.

"No, it would be wrong."

He craved for affection; he'd always wanted the love that was a shadow to him. Everything he did, he did wrong, and the world looked at him as a monster. But if that was what they wanted, then that was what the world will get.

* * *

"Sakura, you've barely touched your food." Her mother gave her with a worried look.

Sakura raised her head and sighed, "I don't know, I guess I'm not that hungry."

"Did something happen?"

She puckered her lips for a second, "No… it's just that I'm worried about my friends."

"Then you should go look for them, I bet they're just as worried about you."

"Yeah, I know that'll help me a lot."

Her spirits were lifted at the thought of seeing her friends again. As much as she was starting to enjoy the company of Gaara, thought they were short and disturbing, she still missed her old comrades. Now that they all had some time off, if wouldn't hurt to just relax with everyone like the old days.

After breakfast, she left the house to get some fresh air. Tomorrow she would go visit Naruto and Sasuke, they should be recovering in the hospital and wanted to give them a little extra time before she stopped by. She especially missed them and the special moments they each shared. Those were the memories she'd keep in her heart forever. Not even Gaara could replace them, but he was right behind them.

Sakura wasn't paying attention again, walking through parks ways and zipping up and down streets until she came about a much more suburban and quieter area. The buildings were more spacious and spread apart. It was quieter and less crowded, easy for her to spot out people she recognized.

"Like the apartments?"

"Yep,"

Sakura immediately turned around, expecting to see the boy with purple markings on his face or even Gaara; but it turned out to be a girl. She was tall and pretty with blonde hair all pulled up into four pony tails. She smiled at Sakura, holding her giant fan behind her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I'm Temari."

"N-no you didn't, I just thought you were someone else."

"Who?"

"No one in particular."

"Like Gaara?"

Sakura's gulped, "What makes you say that?"

"We need to talk."

Sakura felt her heart thumping loudly and nodded. She followed Temari into one of the buildings, clueless to the spying eyes watching her every move.

"By the way, I'm his older sister. That guy you met yesterday is Gaara's older brother, but my other younger one."

"I'm Haruno Sakura."

"Yeah, I know."

"You do?"

"Gaara told me."

She was taken back, "He did?"

"Well not really, I heard him say it a couple times when he was sitting on her roof. But I'll get to that in a minute. There's something I need to tell you about him."

Sakura's heart dropped, wondering if she was ready to take in the information.

**

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**

Ciao.


	12. Chapter 12: Breaking

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Sakura followed Temari silently past the other rooms and up the stairs to her corridors. They stopped in the front of the door as Temari pulled out her keys and stumbled to find the right one, she was visibly shaking and it bothered her. His own sister was afraid of him; it was worse than she could ever imagine and it made her sad. To think that Gaara didn't even have the support of his family made her heart wrench even more. There was noise inside, men talking back and forth to each other.

"My brother's in there with my master; I'll go in there first and let them know you're here. One moment please."

She nodded and waited outside. First there was silence then loud shouting and profanity streaming out in long sentences. Finally, everything went silent and the door opened. A man with red markings on his right cheek and a cloth covering his left eye appeared before her; he had a smug look on his face, but moved aside and beckoned her in. Kankuro sat with Temari at the table, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm you had to deal with Kankuro," Temari smacked her brother on the head and glared at him, "I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up getting arrested and charged with sexual harassment."

Sakura couldn't help smiling; the seemed like a normal family on the outside, but on the inside was a much darker. She sat down across from them. They looked at her for a minute before Kankuro nodded for Temari to start talking.

"We know there's something going on between you and Gaara, Kankuro told me about it when he bummed into you the other day. Gaara's never done that for anyone, not even for us."

"What does that mean?"

"We aren't entirely sure, but maybe if we explained to you what he really is then it'll all make sense."

"'What he really is?"

"He's not human." Kankuro said.

"Don't say it like that." Temari growled, "Gaara went out so he won't be back until night, which t gives up enough time to talk; then you have to leave."

"But," Sakura looked down at her hands and fiddled with her fingers, "What if I don't want to leave?"

"Huh?"

"I can't explain it, but I don't want to leave him. He's so alone and sad, it breaks my heart. I know he wants affection and to be cared for even though he's so cruel, but I'm willing to put up with it all and stay by his side."

"Huh, good luck with that." Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"Gaara isn't exactly the affectionate type," Temari looked at Sakura and smiled softly, "But if you're willing to do it, I'll tell you everything."

"Are you sure that's wise, she is of the leaf village." Baki said.

"If Gaara trusts her; then so do I,"

Sakura looked surprised, "He trusts me?"

"If he's willing to get that close to you then, yeah, he trusts you."

"Why isn't he close to anyone for that matter?"

Temari scrunched her lips, "Well, here's how it all started,"

* * *

Gaara watched from atop a tree as his siblings talked with Sakura, revealing to her what he really was. To his curiosity, she didn't look revolted as they explained everything. Her expression stayed the same the entire time. He expected her to get up and leave already, but she just sat there and soaked everything in.

He wanted to know what they were telling her, so he jumped down and landed on the roof. He made his way down the stairs and into the hallway stopping right outside the door. They were still talking when he kicked open the door with his arms crossed, his glare falling on Sakura. Temari was in the middle of a sentence when she quickly spun around and stopped.

"Gaara, w-we were just talking with Sakura-"

"No more," He turned his glare at her, "Come."

Sakura got up and walked over to him, waving good bye to Temari and Kankuro as they left the room together. They were both silent, neither of them didn't want to say anything that might scare the other person off.

There was so much she wanted to say and ask him, but fear constricted her. She felt so terrible, Temari hardly touched the tip of the ice but already too much was said. Once they were outside, he led her to an empty clearing. He stopped in the middle with his back turned to her.

"What did she say?"

"Not much, she just explained to me about your childhood."

His made a fist, knuckles turning white, "It was troubling."

She didn't know what to say, Temari told her he was abusive and violent, always alone and never got a long with anyone. Not even with his own father. But the way Temari said everything, she sounded sad and regretful. Sakura could tell she did want to all of them to be a family, and felt guilty she didn't do anything to make it happen. She moved to her him and put a hand on his shoulder, but he brushed it aside and moved farther away.

"Don't walk away from me."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because you mean something to me."

He whirled around and gripped her shoulders, "I could destroy you."

"But you won't,"

"I will show my destruction, I will show you devastation."

He could see the light leaving her eyes, but she stood her ground. She was determined to get through to him, and as much as he wanted to let himself fall into her; but he was still afraid. His head started to hurt again, and he didn't want her to see him in a bad mood.

"I need to be alone." He let go and walked away.

"Will I see you again?"

"Maybe,"

He vanished, leaving nothing behind but an empty feeling in her heart. She couldn't go back to a life without him now that he embedded himself into her soul. She wanted him to know, more than anything in the world, that she loved him. And no one was going to make her stop.

* * *

Being outside at night, when the cold air was brushing against her skin was soothing. Sakura couldn't fathom the thought of a life time of loneliness. She sat under her changing tree and watched the leaves switch between colors. Sometimes they would be green, other times red.

"I wish it would rain."

"Why?"

"So it could wash away all my troubles."

"I don't like the rain."

Sakura smiled, already knowing who it was. His presence was somehow calming soothing, he wasn't aggressive like Sasuke or loud like Naruto; he cool and collective. The leaves on the tree started to rustle, sensing the approach of an unfamiliar figure.

"I'm not surprised."

He went to her side, disturbing the tree even more. Sakura leaned against the tree, reassuring it that everything was alright. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of nature all around.

"Gaara,"

"What?"

"What do you want out of this?"

"I don't know."

She opened her eyes and looked at him, "Why did you chose me?"

He didn't know how to put it in words. She was fascinating, different from all the rest and made him feel as though he was actually worth something.

"Because you looked just like me; lost."

"Not with you."

"And you're different than anyone else."

"How do you know that?"

"Who would stay by my side this long?"

Sakura gently touched his hand with her fingers, feeling his coarse skin. She glided her hand up his arm and finally to his cheek. She gazed into his detached eyes and wondered if he felt the same way about her. There were so many things to say and couldn't even utter a word.

"You're getting drowsy."

"I'm not tired."

His sand pinched her pressure point, knocking her out cold. She fell into his arms; he cradled her like a child, careful not to tarnish his beautiful doll. The leaves of the tree shook violently and turn into an poisonous green. Gaara took notice and glared at the tree, one more thing in this world that hated him.

**

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**

Ciao.


	13. Chapter 13: Knowing Peace of Mind

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

He gently laid her down on her canopy bed and stepped back as far as possible. He watched the sleeping beauty with a strange look in his eyes. He had never been so gentle of compassionate in all of his life. Here he was, laying her to rest and not even thinking about killing her. She was changing him, and he didn't know if it was for the better.

Gaara couldn't tear his eyes away from her sleeping form; she looked content and beautiful on the bed. She was vulnerable and naïve, any man, especially him, could easily take advantage of her. He could do anything to her that would make a holy man blush. But decided not to; she was a prize he had to win. She was at the top of the pyramid and he was struggling to stay at the bottom.

Sakura, the name was fitting and mysterious just like her. Her emerald eyes were hypnotizing, luring any person in into a death trap. She possessed a power far greater than his, and he was weak against it. She was like a curse, sticking to him and never letting go. He forced himself to look away, afraid he might get too many ideas and create a scene. He looked at her once last time before jumping out of her window and into the night.

The air was cold and menacing, just like him. He hadn't been on a hunt for while, too preoccupied with other things that tasted sweeter than blood. His thoughts ventured back to his little sleeping heart ache, it drove him mad, because now he was becoming soft. The gods and the demons taunted him with a gift he could never have. The world was cruel, heaven and hell toyed with him. Every time he thought he knew what love was, it always turned out to be one big horrible lie.

It was tormenting to think about it, he was a monster from another world and she was the naïve angel that fell from the heavens and landed in his arms. He took her in when no one else wanted her, and in return she loved him. But fear gripped his heart and forced him to hate her.

Gaara bounded from roof top to roof top, searching for anything that moved and bled. It may have been night, the prey he hunted for were nocturnal. His senses caught something; it was fresh and moving rather quickly. The thrill of hunting moving meat was appetizing. He followed its scent and soon picked up its chakra; it was powerful, but still weak compared to him. The trail led him to an abandoned building on the outskirts, it was eerie and murky. The perfect battle ground, no evidence or any disturbance.

He moved in closer to the broken windows of the dark building and peered into the emptiness, there was silence until loud banging noises and shouting came from above. His sand carried him all the way to the top where light was flickering back and forth. Lanterns were scattered all over the ground, illuminating the figures moving around the room. Their shadows danced across the walls like living puppets. This was even better than he had expected, there were more flesh to feast on. The one he was chasing moved away from the shadows and toward the body tied against a wooden chair.

"So you thought you could screw around with us?"

"N-no sir," Blood spat out when he spoke, making Gaara even hungrier.

"You thought you could slip by us into this damn village and think you'd be protected?"

The victim stayed silent, too afraid to say anything else. The man hit him across the face with the back of his palm and took out a kunai. The bleeding man began to whimper as the others started to laugh.

"Never mess with a Yakuza boss."

"No please, I'll pay you the money I owe!"

"Too late!"

The boss slashed the victim's stomach, blood gushed out of his stomach like a water fountain. Gaara couldn't handle it anymore; he wanted to kill now. His sand moved quickly and put out the lights, suddenly everyone was up in arms. They started shouting at one another before they started screaming. One by one, they would yell in pain, or screech in horror as something grabbed onto their leg and crushed it. Gaara entered the room, walking to the center and looked down at the bleeding man. His hand clutched his skull and crushed it, gooey substance poured out of his eyes.

Finally, the bloody massacre was over and soon several dead bodies scattered the floor. It was an ocean of red and smelt like a graveyard. He smirked in satisfaction, his victory, his prey; they were all dead. His mark would forever linger on this very spot. As he left the building to rot in peace, he couldn't help but imagine his pink haired beauty looking at him in utter horror and hatred if she ever saw this. She would finally see who he was. No one could tame this beast, and no one could love him.

He didn't want to return back to the apartment, knowing that his siblings and master were waiting for him. The only reason why they cared was because of the damn plan to destroy Konoha; his stupid master kept bringing it up whenever possible. The only good part of it was that there were more people for him to kill. If Sakura knew about this, she'd cast him away forever and that was exactly what he wanted, or so he thought. He should never have involved himself with her, but it was difficult when everything he wanted was right in front of him.

"_Sakura…_"

The name was ecstasy on his tongue; her taste still lingered in his mouth. He couldn't wait till the day he could claim her as his, if he still wanted her by then.

He was indecisive; he'd want her one minute then try to toss her aside the next. There was a battle between his inner demon and outer human. They wanted the same thing but for all the wrong reasons. The demon only wanted her body, but his human side wanted a companion to share his happiness and pain with. He was one person, but going through many problems.

Every time he stepped out into the light, it was like he was giving up his right to live a normal life. He was constantly being judged and tormented by hatred he didn't deserve. Every day, he wished the demon would just disappear. He knew his mother never loved him, but deep inside he wished she did. It was the only thing that kept him going for so many years.

Sakura could be lying, only pretending to love him until her betrayal. Though he knew she would never do such a thing, it didn't the pain from entering his mind. Just the thought tore him up.

"Gaara?" Temari popped her head out the window and looked up at the roof.

He didn't answer, he never did. They meant nothing to him, just bodies that got in the way.

"I didn't say anything bad to Sakura; I just told her about our past."

He knew she would never tell Sakura of her neglect, she always fabricated the past. He'd seen the look on Sakura's face while she was listening and he knew fear when he saw it. But it wasn't her fault, she was only human and every human was programmed to hate what was different. But not her, she didn't hate him, and no matter how many times he tried to scare her off; she'd never run.

"Go away."

Temari sighed and went back into the apartment, shutting the window. What he wanted more than anything right now was to disappear into a world of his own away from the eyes of hatred and away from Sakura, whose presence made it hard to breathe. He could only wait and watch as the sand of time slowly slipped through the hour glass.

He was stuck in a glacier, watching the world evolve. Though the people around him grew bigger, they stayed just as stupid; ignorant to their own demise. No one knew how to appreciate anything precious, or truly knew what it meant to love. If anything, he was smart about the concept than any human being. Maybe even more than Sakura, who was just as lonely as he.

Before he knew it, the sun was rising in the distant. The sky started to fade from black to a bright yellow as the rays touched the Earth. He was tired of sitting around and doing nothing. It was a whole month before the exams started again and he wanted to practice killing the Uchiha brat.

His hand started to twitch and red sand formed in his hand, indicating that Sakura had woken up. He didn't know what made him do it, maybe primal instinct; but he felt the need to protect her. She was capable of protecting herself, but something made him do it and the red sand suddenly appeared from his gourd. He couldn't command it as easily as his own personal sand; it clung to her like she was the master. She was even changing his own weapon; the girl had more power than he thought.

He heard from below his siblings and master discussing something and mentioning his name. It had to be about the plan. Growing tired, he got up and escaped the sound of their voices. He had to be alone; he wanted to think in peace and solitude.

Gaara found the place he wanted, a rocky canyon much like the cliff back in his village, but to his dismay; it was already occupied. Two people and judging by their shadows, they were obviously training. One was a master and the other was the student; he didn't have to guess who they were.

* * *

Sakura looked at the red sand curiously; it started to move when she woke up. She could feel the vibrations of it stirring. She didn't know why Gaara left it behind, but it wasn't doing anything. Every time she moved, so would the sand. It would hide under bed until morning when she got up; the sand would leave her bed and linger in the corner of her room. She guessed it had something to do with protection, because it hasn't done anything else except keep watch.

She didn't expect anything less from Gaara; he was always up to something. If he couldn't be with her in person, he had to leave something of himself behind. She shoved the thought aside and hurried to get ready. Today she would visit Sasuke and Naruto at the hospital. Not only was she excited, but relieved. Anticipation ate her away as she brushed her teeth and combed her hair. It had been too long since she last saw her friends.

There were so many things she had to tell them, and they could only be said in person.

_Naruto, you're one of my best friends. But there's something you need to know._

She didn't know how she was going to explain it to him, but she rather it be her than finding out of his own. Sakura quickly put on her cloths and ran downstairs. Her mother had already left the house and breakfast was sitting in the refrigerator, but she was too ecstatic too eat. She decided to get flowers to brighten up their day, so she raced down to the Yamanaka flower shop. Hopefully, Ino will be friendly enough to give her a discount.

_I'll get one for Rock Lee too._

Today, nothing would stop her, not even the red head boy who popped back into her mind every second.

**

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**

Ciao.


	14. Chapter 14: Reasoning

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Their voices were deep and ragged; they must have been training all day. Uchiha Sasuke was exactly where he wanted him to be and tired too, so fighting wasn't going to be a problem. He wanted to kill him, slaughter him, and leave his rotting carcass for the rats. His mind flashed back to Sakura and how she would react. But it didn't matter, he hated the Uchiha and there was nothing stopping him.

His third eye formed in his hand before it rose into the air to watch the pair train. The Uchiha was with his silver haired master. He wasn't sure as to what they were doing, but there was lighting coming out of their hands. It looked powerful, but it was nothing Gaara couldn't fight against.

"We know you're there, so just come out." Kakashi spoke out.

Sasuke stopped and watched as Gaara casually walked out from behind the corner, his expression was emotionless as usual. The two genins glared at each other with despise, wanting to beat the other up. Kakashi quickly took notice of this and interjected.

"You're Gaara of the sand I presume, what are you doing here?"

"Walking."

"More like spying."

"If that is what you think."

"Did someone send you here?"

"I take orders from no one." Gaara turned his back to them and made ready to leave.

"Don't turn away from us." Sasuke growled, but Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. This time they had to let the sand shinobi go, there were more important things to take care of.

His never walked away from something he wanted to annihilate, but it wasn't the right time. He would wait until their battle at the final rounds of the exam, knowing Sakura would be there to watch; he would destroy him right in front of her.

He needed to vent out his frustration, and he knew exactly who he would take it upon; the monobrow freak Rock lee and the annoying Naruto. It was hard to believe shinobis like them could act like nothing was wrong with the world. Jealousy started boiling inside him again, knowing that they were closer to Sakura than he could ever be.

He protected her, he watched her, he would do anything for her and yet he still resented her. All he could feel was hatred and anger, no matter how hard he tried, there was no love left in him. He never fully understood the word or what it truly meant, he had thought he knew it's meaning; but it was all a lie.

There was kindness in her eyes, even when she was fighting; there was never a glimmer of resentment. Her smile was pure; she would never do anything harmful intentionally. She deserved better than him, someone who truly cared for her and didn't toy around with her feelings like he did. He was just a phase and soon she'd move on.

**Enough of your depressing ranting!**

Gaara snapped back into reality and got back onto his feet, angry at himself for losing his guard and searched the area for any approaching enemy. He was losing his mind and it was all because of her. She drove him mad and he couldn't stop it, there was only one way to clear his head; kill. And he knew just who to start with.

* * *

Sakura quietly stepped into the flower shop and searched the small area for some bright and fresh flowers. Her eyes immediately fell on the Daffodil, the beautiful yellow flower stood out among the rest with its simplicity and charm.

"Well, well, well what do we have here? Little miss Sakura coming to our shop to buy our flowers."

"Yeah so?" Sakura refused to face her opponent, knowing where the conversation could possibly head.

"You aren't going to go visit Sasuke are you?"

_Damn it!_

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Just shut up Ino."

"I knew it!" The blonde jumped over the counter and nudged Sakura on the side, "I'm going too!"

"He isn't the only person I'm going to visit." Sakura picked up three Daffodils and smiled at them, happy with her choice.

"Why are you picking those?"

"Because they're beautiful and shows great charisma like Naruto and Rock lee, even in the dead of winter; it'll still bloom and patiently wait for spring to arrive."

"Since when were you the master of flowers?" Ino picked up a red rose and waved it in Sakura's face, "I'm going to give Sasuke this as a symbol of my undying love!"

"How typical of you." She turned her back to her and headed for the counter.

"Oh wait Sakura, have you heard?"

"About what?"

"Rock lee… they said his injuries were so severe that he can never be a shinobi again…"

_What…_

* * *

She didn't know what to say, as she sat there in the hospital; images of Rock Lee popped into her head. He would never be a shinobi again; the thought haunted her mind and made her sick to her stomach. And she knew it was all because of Gaara. Sakura looked down the halls of the hospital and sighed in discomfort, her day was going down the drain. Instead of seeing her friends again, her guilt was soaring through the roof. Her heart couldn't take any more bad news; the flowers in her hand began to look like they were wilting, the life was being sucked out of them.

Ino was sitting next to her, humming away like nothing wrong had just happened. It didn't surprise her that he only person she would be worried about was Sasuke. Her fingers were twitching; it was talking too long just to pay a visit. She got up and walked over to the window for some fresh air, until she noticed nurses gathering around a figure on the ground.

"Oh my…that's Rock lee!"

She jumped through the open window, followed by Ino, and ran to his side. He was doing agonizing pushups while the nurses pleaded for him to stop. It was tearing her heart inside and out to watch, she knew he was struggling to accept that he could no longer be a shinobi.

"Please lee, stop this now, you'll reopen your wounds again!" A nurse cried out.

"No! I am strong enough to do this…one hundred and ninety…" He finally collapsed from fatigue.

Sakura was by his side, watching with watery eyes as he passed out. Nurses ran to him with a lift and carried him back to his room. She shook her head with anger.

"Why the hell do boys always do this?"

* * *

He arrived in the east wing area, where there wasn't that many people. This way he would not be interrupted interruptions. He'd get rid of the brow freak first, and the blonde. There was hardly any sound except for the beeping of the hospital machines and his footsteps that echoes through the hall ways. Total and utter silence, just like how it was supposed to be. He moved through the hallways like a ghost, gliding past open doors of sleeping patients and medicine rooms with nurses who weren't paying attention to their surroundings.

The sitting target was nearby, he could feel it. It had disappeared momentarily at first which disturbed him, but now it was alone and still in an empty room; ready to be slaughtered.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where Uzumaki Naruto is staying in?"

He recognized that voice. He thought he had closed everything off, shut the world behind him; especially that voice. She couldn't be here, not now. Not when he was about to kill someone precious to her. He had to do this, regardless if she saw or not.

He hurried past other rooms until he came to a single door at the end of the hallway, it was closed and held a sign above reading; _do not disturb._

His mind to that day during the exams, when his equally freak of a teacher stopped them right before he finished monobrow off. No one got in between him and his prey, soon his blood shall spill all over these floors and all will see his wrath. His head was hurting again, but he wouldn't let this stop him, he opened the door and stepped into the room.

He was sleeping on the bed, with a single flower by his side. Gaara made his way to the bed side and glared down at the body. An evil smirk crossed his face; soon he will never wake up from this sleep.

**

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**

**Ciao.**


	15. Chapter 15: Undoing

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

There was his prey, unaware of its fate. Unaware of the monster hovering before him with a mad look on his face. No one in the world knew about this, no one would see this terrible and glorious moment. Gaara grew angrier by the second, his thoughts ventured back to the exams when his feast had been so wrongfully snatched from him. The prize of death, taken away at the last moment, but not now; when there was no interruptions around; he could finally dine on the blood he deserved. One simple squeeze of the fist and he will be gone forever. This pathetic excuse for a shinobi; for a human being. If he couldn't handle simple injuries, he couldn't handle life. Now his sand began to move around him.

**Do it, crush the life out of him.**

"Yes, yes. I will kill you."

His sand was mere inches away from the sleeping boy's face, inches away from the black abyss that will swallow him whole. Closer and closer, the earned for the smell fresh blood, he was so close to killing the bastard; but was once again thwarted in his attempt to slaughter him. The door slammed open and in came two nuisances. The other person he wanted to eliminate and the Shikamaru kid. Suddenly he couldn't move his body at all; it felt like someone bound him with rope.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Get away from him!" Naruto shouted and landed a punch right in his jaw.

"Hey, that hurt me too you know," Shikamaru rubbed the same spot that was hit.

Gaara spun around and gave them the deadliest glare. His inner demon and malice were spilling out of him like a volcano; everything surrounding him was tossed aside by the sand as an evil wave washed through them. Naruto and Shikamaru could only stand back and watch as this crazy monster unleashed his fury out on anything within his reach.

"You shouldn't have come."

Naruto fought back with his shuddering courage, "So you kill our friend? Hell no!"

"Shut up Naruto, we aren't exactly in a position to be saying that." Shikamaru nudged him on the side.

"So what, I'm not afraid!" Naruto turned back to Gaara, "Why the hell are you even in here?"

"I want to kill him."

Naruto growled at him, his eyes bulging with anger. He wanted to pummel Gaara until he was lying on the floor bleeding. They were both the same, they want to hurt and they wanted to wipe each other out.

"Why, do you have a personal grudge against him or are you out to seek revenge?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, I just want to kill him."

"You're crazy! Did you even hear what you were saying?"

"Leave our friend alone you egocentric kid." **We are so in a rut right now. **Shikamaru eyed Gaara suspiciously, knowing they had no chance against someone as strong as he.

"I don't like interruptions, I will kill you next."

"Bring it on!"

"Be quiet Naruto," He gave him a stern look, "I have seen you fight and know your capability, but you see; Naruto and I are also skilled fighters, how else could we have made it through the exams? Leave Lee alone or you'll have to face us together."

"I'll say it one more time, if you interfere again; **I will kill you.**"

Naruto smirked at him, "You think you can kill me? Well I've got news for you pal; I've got a real monster inside me, I won't lose to someone like you!"

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing? I was just bluffing!"

"A monster?" Suddenly, Gaara's eyes became darker.

The two turned to him and saw something change; he went from crazy and full of rage to placid in less than a second. Something bad was going to happen; they could just feel it growing more dreadful by the minute.

"I'll tell you who the real monster here is. In order to create the world's most efficient and strongest shinobi, my 'father' implanted a demon incarnation within me. During the process of birth, I stole the life of the woman known as my 'mother.' I was born a monster."

"What kind of sick parents would do that to their own child? That is twisted love."

"Do not judge me by your standards or the definition of what you call family. That word means nothing to me."

His words stung the two like poison; his words were venom to their world of purity. They had no idea of the pain and torture he had dealt with in his childhood, now they knew the truth. Now they will see the real reason behind his anger.

"I was only brought up to be my village's greatest weapon. Being raised in isolation and spoiled, my father taught me the secrets of the village's forbidden jutsus and skills one after the other. At first I thought that was _love_ until the event that twisted everything around."

"What happened, what are you talking about?"

His facial expression began to change, from that of placid boredom to a cynical psychopath. A soft chuckle escaped his lips, when he looked up, it was the eyes of a homicidal maniac, "For the past six years, after I turned six, my father has made every attempt possible to eliminate me from existence, I've lost count of how many times he's failed."

Shikamaru felt something slimy crawl up his spine, making him shudder, "That doesn't make any sense, why would your father teach and spoil you, then try to kill you?"

"A presence born to kill is a presence destined to be feared. The fools of the village finally realized at last how unstable my mind was and tried to stop me, but being that my father was the Kazekage; he used and saw me only as the village's ultimate weapon, fearing me at the same time. I was a liability, an instrument, but also a reminder of the past they wanted to erase. But the main question is; why do I exist?"

Naruto couldn't respond. Everything Gaara said, everything he had dealt with in his terrible life; he related to. Everyone feared him, no one would even spare a glance, and he was the center of all their hatred. He understood this need to want a reason to live, a purpose to exist.

"At first I could find no answer, if I had no purpose to live then I should be dead. Then one day it hit me, I will always live in constant fear of someone other than myself, trying to take my life, there was no peace for me until I came up with this resolution; 'I exist to kill all humans other than myself.'"

Naruto could feel his heart racing, this person he never met before now, this stranger ready to kill his friend; was more alike to him than any other person in the world. He knew what it meant to truly struggle to be alive.

"I fight only for myself and love only myself. As long as there are people out there for me to kill…I will never cease to exist," Sand suddenly sprang into the air and cackled viciously, "Now help me feel alive!"

* * *

Sakura burst into Naruto's room with joy in her eyes, hoping that he would still be in bed waiting for her. But to her great disappointment, he was gone. The bed was empty and the windows were open, but there were still some signs that he was still here. Her face fell to a frown; she couldn't let this ruin her day. She would go looking for him; she was desperate to see him again.

That was when she heard a loud banging noises down the hall way. It shook the room and everything in it, but it died away as quickly as it came. Naruto could be in there, causing trouble, and she hoped it was him.

She carefully peeked from behind the door before quietly walking out of the room and down the hallway. The noise became louder the closer she got to the door. She could tell it was Naruto's voice and it sounded like Shikamaru was with him. But the other one; the one that sent shivers down her spine and a churning in her stomach, made her grip her chest and breathe heavily. It sounded so much like him and she was hoping it was just some other psychopath instead. Sakura stopped in front of the door and listened carefully to everything that went on between them.

It was him; Gaara, the boy who stole her heart, mind, and life. She was confused as what he was doing here. Her eyes darted up to the chart and saw Rock lee's name on the roster. An unsettled dispute perhaps, either way this was all going to end badly. She peeked in through the key hole and saw everything that was happening; Gaara was standing next to Rock lee's body and Naruto and Shikamaru was confronting him.

Then something happened, his face went from angry to calm and collective, he started to say things that made her feel uncomfortable and depressed. She had never heard anything so heart wrenching before, it opened her eyes and see Gaara in a whole new way. The tears began to pool in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. He must have been hiding his past from her all this time. Temari never mentioned this; she wondered what else she didn't say.

She felt like such a fool, and understood why he was constantly pushing her away. He was unstable for a reason, and she completely ignored that and focused on her needs only. He had no one, while she had her beloved friends and family. He reminded her so much of Naruto, but unlike him, Gaara never had the chance to save himself from the darkness.

_I'm so sorry, Gaara._

Suddenly, sand flung into the air like angry vipers and aimed for Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Now, help me feel alive!"

Sakura burst open into the room and sprang right in front of the two, blocking them from harm's way. The sand crashed into her softly but retreated instantly back to a shocked Gaara. His head hurt for a started aching, he watched as she tried to move closer to him.

"Gaara…"

Her voice was soft but full of sympathy, it was his worst nightmare; she knew everything.

"Sakura, get away from him! He's going to kill you!" Naruto grabbed her arm but she moved away from him.

"No he won't, I promise." She watched as he met her gaze, he was angry and frustrated. But also broken, his eyes were lost in her pool of green.

"Of all the people in the world…"

"Sakura!" She turned her head as Shikamaru tried to make a grab at her, but Gaara reached her first and pulled her into his arms before disappearing in a whirlwind of sand.

Where they were headed to next was a complete mystery. But the location Gaara had in mind was not too distant; in fact, the leaves were already changing its colors as it awaited for their arrival.

**

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**

Ciao.


	16. Chapter 16: Knowing Everything

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Gaara threw Sakura against the rock and stood there seething as she sank to the ground and rub the back of her head. He was beyond furious and couldn't understand where this rage was coming from, but it was he was angry; especially at her. She heard everything, all the secrets he wanted to keep from her; she heard it all.

His worst fears were coming true; she would hate him forever and discard him like all the others. He was no longer just a terrifying boy anymore, but a murderous monster. Now she knew why he could not love her, why he hated affection yet longed to find someone. It pained him to know that he could never chose what he wanted, and what he wanted at the moment was for her to leave him before the pain sank in.

She did not move from her spot, only looked at him with bitter eyes. There were no tears, no sense of fear, she was quiet and still. She didn't look like she was alive, her animated spirit and cherry smile were tone. A perfect sculpted statue sat there looking at him with pity and dread. He wanted to cast her aside; he could not deal with the rejection after all this.

"Now you know what I am." He glared hard at her.

"Why couldn't you tell me all this before?" Her voice was barely above a whisper

"You wouldn't have understood."

"How do you know? You know me, just like I don't know you. How can we trust each other if you aren't honest with me?"

"We can't."

"Is that what you want me to believe? I think there's something holding you back Gaara."

He cringed at her words, they stung like hot needles. Everything she said melted right through him. He couldn't trust anyone; humanity had betrayed him too many times. He lived a lonely life in the shadows of the day. Sakura thrived in the light, someone like her wouldn't understand the life he had faced, she could never compare herself to him. There was no similarities; only a pile of differences.

"I can't trust. I can't love. I can't forget."

"So looked at her, but could not answer. Debating whether to chase her away or have her here forever. He tried to avoid it all, but in the end everything caught up to him. This was the final outcome; he had to choose before it was all gone, before she was gone. Inside, he would always be afraid. He wanted to overlook his past and move on. But the demon within him was a constant remind.

"Tell me you don't love me," She got up on wobbly knees and took a step towards him, "You always return to me, tell me you don't feel anything."

"Be quiet."

"Gaara," She was breaking down, her voice was cracking. She couldn't hold anything back anymore; it all had to come out.

His head started to pang, memories flashed back into his mind, some being more painful than the others. It was bad either way, and would just keep spiraling downhill after that, the hole in his heart stretched out even wider.

"You don't understand anything; you'll only push me away."

He turned his back to her and started to walk away, but felt a slight tugging. She flung herself at him and wrapped her arms him. His eyes widened at the sudden close contact, paralyzed into his place. His sand didn't even react as she gently brought her lips to his and looked at him with half lidded eyes, hiding the sorrow beneath them.

"Please don't walk away."

She wanted him to stay; no one had ever asked that. His wall was breaking, there was nothing left to hide or fear. She had heard it all and seen his bad side. In the end, through the darkness and the terror, all that was left; was him.

His hands snaked their way around her, letting his head sink into the crook between her neck and shoulder. As he sank to the floor, she followed, never letting go. She hoped that now, after everything they've been through, he'd learn to accept himself and her. He pushed his head deep into her shoulder while trying to suppress all the anguish from escaping. He didn't want to let everything out, but just for her; he will make an exception.

He mumbled some incoherent things onto her skin. She twitched a little as his warm breathed tickled her. She pulled back a little and lifted his head.

"Say that again,"

"I have a demon inside me…"

From that point on he continued to tell her in full detail of the day he was born, to the day he was tragically betrayed by the one person he thought he could trust and love. He spoke with discomfort sprayed all over his words, his tone was platonic but she could hear the emotion beneath it all.

The colors of the leaf shifted into a light gray with a shimmer of white here and there. The branches seemed to lower itself as it listened to the story being told. The tree seemed to have a life of its own, moving when something tragic was said or shaking at something painful. The leaves churned until Sakura soothed him with a gentle touch.

It seemed like the sands of time stood still for the pair, the sun never moved from its place and the wind kept blowing right over them. The lazy clouds in the sky casted a shade over the two, covering them from the eyes of demons and gods. Forever was happening and eternity was in the making.

"You don't hate me?"

Sakura shook her head, "Of course not."

"After everything I've done and put you through."

"If I had let any of that affect me; I wouldn't be here now."

He looked at her with his innocent jade eyes and wondered where this will all lead to in the future, just thinking about it made him nervous and uneasy. She might change her mind and then leave, but he wouldn't stop her. It was understandable, but the determination and love she showed him, her bravery and care made him truly believe she wanted to be with him.

Gaara gently rested his forehead on hers and they shared a peaceful moment together, undisturbed by any other presence. He glanced up and saw the leaves shifting into a calming green, almost of the same colors as her eyes.

"It means I love…"

He kissed her, yearning to release all his emotion into her. She quickly responded, moving her lisp with his. He grew needy and pulled her in closer, her soft pink lips were always the same flavor but sweeter every time he tasted them. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he latched onto her hair and slightly pulled her head back. Her revealing neck was all the more tempting; he bit down hard on a sensitive part of her skin that made her gasp.

The demon went wild, it wanted more. More skin, more action; more everything. But Gaara broke away before anything wild went through his head.

Sakura willed herself to speak, "Gaara…"

There was something tangling itself in her voice, she held her breath and spoke.

"Do you…love me?"

He stopped what he was doing and stayed put, his lips rested on her shoulder blade. He realized how much he cared about her, more than anyone in the world. But he couldn't bring himself to say those words. They tasted like venom in his mouth. He wanted to show her how much she meant to him, without saying anything. He let her in, trusted her above anyone else. He started to trace unknown patterns onto her back, then his kanji expertly over and over again.

Suddenly, he had an epiphany.

Small grains of soft sand started moving towards him. Gaara pulled back a little, but smirked against her cheek as he took her arm from around his neck and displayed her wrist. She crooked her head to the side a little to glance into his eyes, but he had them closed.

He fingered her soft skin, "This will hurt."

The sand started cutting into her skin, engraining itself until blood started to seep out. Her wrist turned bright red and her veins were pulsating. She wanted to yell, but kept her mouth closed, biting her bottom lip and forced her eyes away from the sight. The sand worked its painful procedure as a shape began to form on her delicate wrist. After waiting for two agonizing minutes, the sand disappeared and she got a good look at her wrist. She knew that symbol.

A silver tear fell from her eyes and landed on the scar, stinging it. It was the only way he could show his _feelings_ towards her. But it didn't matter; he opened himself up and allowed her in. It meant so much to her, because now they were always apart of each other.

The colors of the leaves turned a dark scarlet.

**

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**

Before they knew it, the sun was setting and the sky was turning deep purple.

Gaara carried Sakura home, knowing her knees would give in and her legs were too weak to walk. Her body was shaking slightly, and knew why His eyes quickly looked down at her calm face and back up again. Somehow she always looked smaller in his arms and more fragile. Strong yet frail, her soul was a beautifully broken mess.

They reached her house just as the last rays of the sun melted away and the gleaming stars began to shine in the darkened sky. He slipped through her open window and felt the red sand under her bed shudder in anticipation. Gaara walked over to her bed and gently laid her down on the soft mattress, pulling the blanket over her and made ready to leave.

"Wait,"

He glanced over his shoulder and saw her sitting up, looking at him through pink bangs.

"Don't leave yet."

He smirked and glided over to her, touching the side of her face. She melted into his hand as he brought his face to her level.

"Go to sleep, you'll be very busy tomorrow."

He kissed her slightly on the lips, leaving her hanging as he strode back to the window and out of her room, into the night. She raised her wrist looked at it for some time, awed at his somewhat affectionate display of emotions. It still burned, but the end results would be worth it.

She carefully got off the bed and looked under it, the calm red sand sat there as if it was staring right back at her. She still didn't understand why it had to be here, but left it alone. Sakura sat on the window ledge, looking out the glass wall and saw something move in the distant trees. At first she got ready her kunai in case it was an attacker, but when she paid more attention to the detail and movement, her eyes widened, and a sick feeling developed inside her.

The raven eyes of an Uchiha had watched everything happen.

**

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**

Ciao.


	17. Chapter 17: Confusion

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

_

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_

She was running to him, calling out his name, and reaching for his hand. But he could not hear or see her. She was invisible to him. He raised his head and watched as light shining down from grey clouds engulfed him and carried him away. Before she could even touch him, he was gone. And she was left in below, surrounded by the shadows.

_The jade eyes she loved so much disappeared forever, a chaotic whirlwind tearing up everything she ever held dear; he would never return. She let him slip away, it didn't matter how fast she ran or what she did; he was gone._

_Everything vanished, she watched the light go out and the world around her suddenly became dark. There was nothing, but she felt the pressure on her skin as she crumbled into herself. A life of pure loneliness waited her. Somewhere in the back of her head, terrible words chanted in her head;_

"_You killed him."_

Sakura woke up screaming and clutching her heart, breathing in and out harshly like her lungs were on fire. The sand below come up surrounded her bed defensively before going back down as she steadied herself. Trickles of sweat fell from her head as she shook off the horrible nightmare from her mind. Her skin turned ghastly pale, the air around her suddenly became thick as an uneven motion overcame her.

She wiped away the tears in her eyes and steadied her breathing. She didn't understand what was happening, why she was dreaming such horrible things. Every time she closed her eyes, she'd always see Gaara being pulled away from her. It was tortuous. She tried to tell herself they meant nothing, but it didn't work. Her dreams felt like messages. She'd been worried something might happen ever since that night Sasuke spied on them.

She looked down at her blistering wrist and stared at the kanji. Whenever she looked at it, her throat constricted and her heart would flutter. She loved him; it was as simple as that.

Not a soul in the world could tear her away from him, she seemed too young to understand, but she knew who her heart longed for. The thought of losing him was too much to bear. Her fingers traced the mark engraved onto her wrist and fell back onto her bed.

There was only one problem standing in their way; the villages.

She didn't care if they would hate her; it was them against the world. If they could just accept him and understand how much torture he had been through, then maybe they would understand why they were meant to be together.

"Please, don't let anyone know."

**

* * *

**

The rest of the night was all a surreal blur; it sped past her like the ticking of a clock. A familiar orange glow began to form in the sky when the sun floated above the horizon. Sakura refused to fall back asleep and kept her eyes wide open until her body became numb. The air was cold and so was her body, there was no warmth in the world at the moment.

She forced herself off the bed and looked at her calendar; just a week before the final rounds of exams began. Her message machine was beeping; she must have missed it while she was out. She pressed the black buttoned and waited for some dreadful news to come but it was only Ino asking where she had disappeared to the other the other day. It didn't matter; the voice just went through one ear and out the other. Today, she had more pressing matters to attend too.

After washing up and getting ready, she left the house as soon as the sun was in the air and made a dash for any familiar places where she could find her old teacher. She ran all over, searching for the silver haired jonin. But he was nowhere to be seen, he had a knack of always disappearing.

"Where is he?" She stood in the middle of the empty training grounds with her hands on her hips.

"Looking for someone?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin, Kakashi stood behind her with a familiar book in hand with his casual smirk underneath his mask. He waved a hand in the air as a greeting.

"Master Kakashi…"Sakura restrained herself from bashing her teacher on the head and cooled herself down, remembering the why she was here, "Have you run into anyone lately? Did you hear anything new?"

He looked up for a minute then shrugged, "No one and nothing in particular, why do you ask?"

"Because I need to talk to Sasuke…right now."

"Well I haven't see him in a while, why do you need to talk to him?"

"It's, uh, something important, um, something that has to do with the chuunin exams."

"Well I'm sure if it has to do with the exams, you can certainly tell me."

She bit the inside of her cheek and tried to think of an explanation, "It's a…personal thing, something I can't say to an old man reading hentai."

Kakashi looked a little shocked at first but regained himself, "Well okay then if you don't trust me."

"It's not that I don't trust you…okay maybe with this thing I don't, but can you please just tell me where Sasuke is."

He sighed and brought his book up to his face, "Last time I saw him he was leaving the hospital and heading towards the mountain area."

She thanked her master and parted ways. He must have been gone by now, she should have chased him down when she had the chance. He must have told someone by now, or avoiding her. Sasuke had no business in her personal life, so it shouldn't matter to him who she was with. He would just have to accept it whether he hated it or not. At least it got her out of his way.

Her head hung low as she continued to walk the streets of Konoha, a never ending search for the Uchiha. There were so many people out, but none she was looking for. She heard whispers of the chuunin exams here and there and the possibility of a huge battle between Sasuke and Gaara. She picked up the pace and stopp in a secluded area near a hot spring.

"Sasuke?"

"Looking for me?"

Sakura turned her head toward the advertising billboard and saw the Uchiha boy sitting on top, he was glaring down at her with fierce intensity, but she wouldn't back down. He was wearing an all black jumpsuit, something Kakashi must have given him for the exams.

"We need to talk."

"Yes, we do," He jumped down and landed right in front of her, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Me? I'm not the one going around and spying on people."

"I wasn't spying; I just wanted to know why you and that freak from sand are together."

She felt her face boil with rage, "Don't call him that."

"He's the enemy and you're with him, where does that put you? Where is your loyalty?"

She couldn't answer, especially when Sasuke was so close and breathing down her neck for an answer. She didn't want to choose between her village and someone she loved, it was hurting her more than she could imagine. The pain was coming back, and the pressure was making it worse.

"You know already."

"Oh do I?" He took one step forward, over powering her, "Look at me Sakura."

His voice was powerful and full of authority; she raised her emerald eyes to his and looked at him directly. Then his hands came up and gripped her arms, causing her to yelp.

"What do you want from me Sasuke? I'm loyal to this village, but I'm also a human being."

"Not just to the village, but to your teammates; to me."

Her ears perked up and she became confused, "I don't understand, you?"

A low growl came from the back of his throat, "Don't play coy with me, you know exactly what I mean. I don't like things dangling before me that I can't have," She tried to back away but his grip tightened around her arm, "I hate knowing that you're with him."

"What does it matter? You've always called me a nuisance, you've never cared for me."

"I've learned the error of my ways. I don't want you anywhere near him Sakura, or people will get hurt."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's warning. Think about it, he lives in a different village and what do you think would happen if anyone else finds out? You'll hurt them for your lying and betrayal."

Sakura looked down; holding all her emotions inside, realizing the truth hurt more than it should. She felt him let go of her arms and lean down into her ears, "No more, please, I've heard enough for today."

"Remember this, you still have me."

By the time she looked up, he was already gone. She felt tormented and alone, her emotions were being toyed with. The one person she thought she loved broke her heart, only to mend it back together. She took in steady breaths and collected her thoughts, as long as he didn't say anything; it didn't matter what he did to her.

_I don't need you._

_

* * *

_

_Something does not feel right._

Gaara looked up into the sky and closed his eyes. His senses were on edge, a force from far away was tugging at his sleeve to follow it. The kidnapped victim slowly limped to the floor before it doubled over. His training would have to end for now, something more was happening and it had to do with Sakura. His hands tightened at his sides, knuckles turning white.

He couldn't help but be violent and rash as he followed the trail looming in the air. Someone dared to touch Sakura, and that person was going to feel the wrath of a furious demon.

**Do not go.**

_Why?_

**This doesn't feel right.**

_That's what I just said._

**It feels like a trap, and the girl is bait. If you go now, you will suffer the consequences.**

_If I don't go, I will still suffer the consequences._

He never disobeyed the orders of the demon, but ever since Sakura came in; he made a few changes in their relationship. But for now, he had to listen. The girl would just have to wait.

Gaara gritted his teeth and turned away, knowing that he was also turning his back on Sakura. This was the result for being too attached, situations like these were inevitable, and they always left him feeling dry and useless. He had a feeling that after today, he wouldn't be able to see her again.

Affection was making him weak; they were clouding his mind as well as his judgments. But, he was still glad it was happening, he was learning how to be human again. All because of Sakura, because she was dying with him and not looking back as the world stopped shining. If she hadn't accidentally fallen into his life, he would continue suffering alone and slipping away from the world. He couldn't be there for her, when she needed him. Now it was his turn to feel guilty.

**This pain will end soon enough. She is strong and she will find another path to you another time.**

_What if that time never comes?_

**Well, you already know what it's like to be alone. **

The demon silenced itself as Gaara smashed rock with his fist, his pounding head resting in his hands. Somehow, the night seemed too far away, he wanted an escape from this world and back into the black where it didn't hurt.

**

* * *

**

Ciao.


	18. Chapter 18: Reveal

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

"Gaara hasn't said anything for two days now." Kankuro whispered as he nudged Temari in the ribs.

"So what? It's not like he even talks to us anyways, just let him be." She didn't look up from studies but knew Gaara heard them well enough, "Try not to disturb him."

"What am I gonna do?"

"Because I know you, you always get on everyone's case. Now shut up and leave me alone, I have a lot of planning to do."

"What if he's finally cracked and the plan fails? We'll be in so much-"

Temari slapped Kankuro hard across the face and shook him by the shoulders, "Shut up, shut up, shut up! Go do something useful for once and let me work!"

He was out of the room in a heartbeat and running for his life towards the village. Temari let out an exasperated breathe and turned back to the table. She grabbed her pencil and continued to do some calculations and statistics on her journal while drawing out the leaf village on a map. She looked up through the creases of her bangs and out the window, the shadow of her younger brother covering the entire balcony. His head wasn't the only one that was hurting here. She looked down at the map and signed. War was not something she had in mind when she took the chuunin exams.

She opened her mouth to try and call him, but shut it immediately. Not only was guilt eating her away for going on with this wicked plan, but for also being an irresponsible older sister. She stopped what she was doing and slowly got up from the table, taking tiny baby steps to the balcony. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she made it to the edge and stopped right there.

"Uh…"

It seemed like forever until he responded.

"What do you want?"

She leaped in surprise, but quickly steadied herself, "Ah, great you're still here! I-I don't mean that in a bad way, but yeah, how are you feeling?"

This was her lame attempt to try and reconcile with him and he knew it, but he wasn't buying it. There was already a thick wall between them, and on top of that was this aching notion inside him that no one could heal. It was causing him grief and anger, never in his entire life had he felt so weak. He hated attachment, because he knew consequences like these would happen.

"…murderous."

"Okay, um, I'll leave alone then if you want, but I can't help wondering if this has to do with Sakura?"

She hit a nerve with him; he jumped down and looked over his shoulder, giving her a deathly glare. She quickly backed up and sat back down on the floor. Her face was full of terror, but she wouldn't give up the chance to make friendly with brother.

"Don't say that name."

"D-did something happen?"

"Yes." And with that said he vanished in his whirlwind of sand to another secluded area, away from all this noise.

Temari sighed and shook her head, her hands still shaking, "I think he still hates me."

* * *

Hopeless. Helpless. Defenseless. Worthless.

He couldn't stop repeating the words over and over again in his head; they plagued him like a disease. He would have done anything to make it all go away, but every time he did; her face would haunt his mind. It always reminded him of how foolish he was. The thing he was dreading the most was coming true; he wouldn't be able to let her go or live without her. His heart and head were aching like mad; the world was crashing down on him. The black abyss he despised was coming back to consume him.

For once in his miserable life, he felt wanted, he felt dependable, and…

He couldn't bring himself to even say it in his head; it was the only word in the world he hated with a passion. It hurt to know he couldn't even say it to the only person he felt that way towards. All he could do was leave a little of himself with her to have forever.

He's been this far already without anyone, and yet when she was with him; he needed her by his side. It felt like his mind was being torn into pieces, he couldn't decide what to do.

**I know what you're thinking.**

"I need to see her, one last time."

It felt like time was moving too quickly. He knew why the demon wouldn't allow him to see her, and it was killing him on the inside. How devastating it would be, just when he started to pull through, a war between the villages will tear them apart. He could have backed away from the plans, but it wasn't in his nature to spare lives.

"What will I do?"

**She will hate you after this.**

"I already know that, but I have already dealt with hatred before. It does not matter to me."

**You're a fool boy; in the end you will care.**

"Yes."

* * *

Sakura finally found him after searching for days; he was at his usual spot with his back turned towards her. To think she didn't even bother looking here first, she must be losing her mind. She calmly walked up to him and stood a stool by his side.

"Hey Naruto."

"Oi!" He quickly slurped up the huge chunk of ramen in his mouth and swallowed it whole, "I haven't seen you since that day in the hospital, what happened? Tell me everything!"

"I'm alright, I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"The chuunin exams and something else." She didn't want to bring up the sensitive subject, afraid it might hurt his feelings.

Naruto saw the conflicting look on her face and patted her head, "Sakura, whatever it is, just tell me."

"Alright. Naruto, how do you deal with people in general? I know they look down on you because you have the nine tail fox in you…" She stopped after his face dropped, "I'm sorry Naruto I didn't mean-!"

"No, it's alright Sakura, I'm glad you asked."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I think I know why you're asking, it has to do with that Gaara guy right?"

She looked down and fiddled with her thumbs, "…yes…"

"You don't have to be scared or anything Sakura, I won't hate you."

She looked up at him, "You won't?"

"No, even if it bothers me, and it does a lot, I could never hate you Sakura. You mean a lot to me and whatever your decision it; I'll support you till the end." He gave her his signature thumbs up with that cocky smile.

"Thanks."

"So about your question; why'd you want to ask me that anyways?"

She looked down again, unsure on what to say, "Sasuke said something to me a couple days ago that made me feel…uneasy, he said something about Gaara, and it made me so mad, but then he tried to comfort me and it just threw me off, but no matter what he says…I'll only want to be with Gaara, no matter what."

"You know," He put down his chopsticks and leaned in close to Sakura, "He's lucky to have someone like you, that guy is really messed up, but with you by his side, he'll probably have a less harder time living. Me, I've got friends I know I can count on, while he has no one; 'cept you. People like to make fun of me, but I won't let that get to me, because I know that one day they're going to give me respect as the next Hokage!"

She laughed, for what seemed like the first time in a very long time, and watched as her best friend down the last of his ramen. He offered to walk her back to her place but she kindly refused and hugged him goodbye, releasing him before he got any ideas, and went off to a different direction. The small conversation with Naruto seemed to make things a little bit better, Naruto understood, but why couldn't Sasuke? This wasn't about who she was with or who that person was; it was about two very lost souls finding peace in each other.

There was no way to tell Sasuke she had chosen someone far better than him, his pride wouldn't let that happen. He couldn't possibly have meant what he said, she knew him better. He was too egotistical for his own good.

"Where am I going now?"

She subconsciously made her way to the training area, and to the same spot where she first met him. He was so submissive and scary before. But now she could look at him and smile, knowing that he'd always be there for her. She sat down on the glossy grass and felt the cold breeze sweep through her hair.

"I thought you would have gone to your beloved tree."

Sakura quickly looked over her shoulders and saw him standing in the same spot, with the same expression. But instead of him making the first move, she jumped up and ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck. She caught him by surprise; he wasn't expecting this. She was making it more difficult for him.

"I missed you; I haven't seen you in days." She let go of him and looked into his eyes, but they seemed lost, even when he was looking right at her.

"Sakura,"

She backed up a little, "Did something happen?"

"There is something you need to know."

There was a crunching sounded coming from inside her and she realized that it was her heart crumbling into pieces, the way he said those words; it felt like the world was going to end.

"What do you mean?"

"The sand village, the sound village, all of the shinobis, including me…"

He lowered his eyes, he could bear to look at her face and see it turn to despair. She placed her hands on the sides of his face and lifted his head.

"What is it?"

"There is a planned attack on Konoha that will take place during the chuunin exams. Sand and Sound shinobis are expected to bring down the Leaf village. They will us me as their ultimate weapon; to destroy this village."

She couldn't believe what she just heard; it made her sick to her stomach. She let go and backed away, seething with rage but filled with sadness. Her hands were clenched into fists; she looked at him with incredulous eyes. Hoping that it was just another one of his sayings to push her away.

"Y-you're lying right?"

"No."

Her jaw dropped and anger over took her, "How could you?"

"It was not my decision, I am only following orders."

"What about me? Was I just part of your assignment?"

He turned his back to her, ready to leave, "For the first time…I was happy, I could be myself around you, I came to you myself." He almost looked to be smiling, but it was instantly wiped away by the whirling sand, "But it all must end here. Our ties to our villages; breaks our bond."

"Don't leave," She reached her hand out but he was gone.

She didn't know how to react, only fallings to her knees and gripping the ground for support. Her relationship with Gaara was killing her on the inside, she felt like going insane herself. But she loved him and wanted to help him. That was why she couldn't let him do this, she saw him breaking down when he looked at her. It was torturing him as much as it did her. He didn't want to leave, and she didn't want him to go.

_No…_

Sakura got up, not ready to give up, "I'll find a way back to you."

**

* * *

**

Ciao.


	19. Chapter 19: Knowing Your Path

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

He didn't want to go back; he couldn't face her again, not after what he did. He took her vulnerable heart and crushed it into a million pieces. But that was nothing compared to the pain she would bare if she were to find the truth out for herself. He was a horrible and wretched monster, a plague descended from hell onto the world. He created nothing but grief and havoc, no one around him could ever be happy; not even Sakura.

Her name burned him. He was a living nightmare; he couldn't control himself because all he could think about was her. She was on his mind every single hour, every single day. He tried not to feel anything; he forced himself to go back to his old self, but to no avail. When she called out his name and reached for his hand, it was hard to deny her, she had already left a mark on his blackened heart. Rejection was painful.

But he knew it was better to separate from her. That way in the end, she could live her life and forget all about him. He would only bring her down; this love was never meant to be.

This was his punishment for believing he could be happy, the consequences for trying to become less of what he truly was. In the world of demons, they do not cherish anything.

"This day must end."

The sun lazily dripped onto the horizon, too tired to move any faster and created an orange glow in the sky. After today ends, the final rounds of the exams would begin. There would be a mass amount of pressure on him and his siblings. Everyone would be watching, but they had no idea what they were in for, this was more than some test; it was a war.

"Gaara?"

Yet again, they kept calling him. Too fearful to even try and come out to see him. He always sat outside on top of the roof, just steps away. Yet they were too afraid to walk outside.

"How are you doing?" Temari stood underneath the doorway and craned her neck to look up.

He didn't answer, he wouldn't. There was too much going on in his mind to say anything. She took this as a bad sign and left him at peace, returning to her seat next to Kankuro. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and looked back at the map of Konoha. She was disgusted with herself; she hated her father and the Daimyo. War brought nothing but grief and suffering.

"What's wrong with him?" Kankuro asked, "He's gloomier than ever."

"My guess is that it has something to do with Sakura."

"Did she break up with him or something?"

"No, knowing her, she wouldn't do something like that. He must have done something."

"We launch our attack tomorrow, if Gaara's still in this little funk of his, do you think he'll follow through?"

Temari looked up from her paperwork and sighed, "Let's hope so."

**

* * *

**He tuned everyone and everything out; the whole world was a quiet mess. It was more than just a silent night; it was a pit of chaos. Sick, strange feelings that had engulfed Gaara swallowed him and spit him out, like the filth he was. He brought this on himself, he caused this turmoil. But if he had never met her, he would continue walking the line between reality and insanity.

Tomorrow would truly be the end of them, when he revealed the demon beneath the skin. If he couldn't handle the blood lust himself, there was no way she could either.

The freedom of the night was calling out to him, if he didn't escape from this prison soon, he'd murder himself. He slowly rose from his perch on the roof and disappeared into the night.

The cold air was a comfort, he didn't anything warm to remind him of his loss.

"I have no loyalty."

* * *

Morning came too soon; it was the beginning of a beautiful disaster. As most of the population slept well last night and was fully rested for the day's events, Sakura dragged herself out of bed and stood in the middle of her room. Her eyes were deep and hollow; she had not slept and stayed up the entire night replaying everything through in her head. She didn't want this day to come, but there was nothing she could do.

It hurt inside to even think of his name, like a hole was punched into her chest. His words stung like dry ice and clung to her. She felt ridiculous and slapped her face; she was a shinobi, a Konoha kunoichi. She was better and stronger than this; this was her moment to prove her worth.

No one will ever know of this burden but her.

"I'm coming for you," Sakura stopped at the bathroom doorway and peeked behind her shoulder to the picture on her counter, "You've both changed so much."

It was sad to look at, old team seven, everyone was happy back then. Whatever happened to their smiles? They suddenly grew up too fast; fighting battles even adults wouldn't partake in.

"I miss you guys."

"Sakura!" Her mother called from below.

"Yes?"

"Hurry up; you're going to be late!"

"Right."

**

* * *

**Sakura ran through the streets of her beloved village towards the battle stadium. She looked back one last time at all the sights and buildings, hoping that they would be there tomorrow, and ran inside. It was more crowded than she had expected it to be, the audience seats were packed. At the south end were all the feudal lords and daimyos. They whispered among themselves and smiled wickedly.

There were hardly any seats available; so many people were packed into tiny rows, it looked like she would suffocate if she sat down. She went up and down half of the east side before stopping in the middle for another look around.

"Seven thousand seats and not one available." She growled.

"Hey forehead!"

"Ino-pig?"

She turned to the side and saw the blonde sitting down with some empty seats next to her.

"Need a place to sit?"

"Yeah, thanks." Sakura scooted next to the blonde and turned her attention to the empty battle ground.

"So do you know why all these old rich guys are here?"

"Placing bets on the contestants, so disgraceful."

"Interesting, anyways, do you know where Sasuke is?"

Ino immediately regretted asking that question; Sakura pulled her knees up to her chest and hung her head with a grim look on her face. All the joy in the world seemed to be sucked away at that moment.

"…I don't want to talk about it…"

"Okay, alright, I won't bring him up again."

"Naruto's match is up first. Let's not spoil it for him and cheer him on."_ Sasuke…_

Her eyes scanned the battle grounds and immediately, they fell on the one person who made her heart cringe; Gaara. His attention was on the jonin in front of them, explaining the rules and showing the chart that will tell them their round orders. She held in all her emotions and made sure Ino didn't see the discomfort in her face. She wanted to go down there and stop everything. But he was a million miles away and growing farther away. He was going up against Sasuke and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Naruto raised his hand and waved it furiously.

"What?"

"What about Sasuke? He isn't here yet!"

"If he doesn't show up by the time his match comes up then he'll lose by forfeit!"

* * *

Gaara lowered his head and chuckled darkly to himself. The fool had no idea what he was in store for, no matter how hard and vigorous he trained, he was no match for this sand demon. Unfortunately, his match wasn't for a while, which meant he'd have to wait for his turn while his hunger grew insatiably.

"…Good, now that you all know the rules, it's time for you all to move to the waiting room."

As he walked behind his siblings, his eyes caught something pink in the distance amongst the crowd. His heart started to race, but he kept his face cool and placid. It was her, the vain of his utter being. She was still here after what he said, brave yet foolish. Destruction would soon unfold in front of her very eyes.

**You will have your chance with her later, now get moving.**

There was no point in arguing with Shukaku, he followed the demons words and made his way up the stairs. Just as he reached the top and stood besides his siblings in the secluded balcony, Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuga Neji's match had begun.

This would have been more interesting if that Uzumaki boy would release the so called 'monster' he also had inside him. He wanted to see how powerful this kid claimed to be. If Sakura was so close to this boy, then maybe, when this was all over, he might be able to see her one last time; if either of them made it out of this alive.

He turned his attention back to the match.

The Hyuga kid was babbling on and on about how everyone already had a destiny planned out for them and how Uzumaki was an embarrassment to the shinobi world. They went at each other with blood intent, victory dancing in their minds, and the aspiration of becoming a chuunin. Hyuga used his byakugan to do a palm rotation jutsu that sent Uzumaki flying. It seemed to be over, the white eyed freak had the upper hand and he was relishing in his '_destined'_ victory. Just then, out of nowhere, Uzumaki sprang back with his shadow clones and came head on with a very tactical maneuver on Hyuga. One even sprang up from the ground and landed a hard punch into Hyuga's chin. No one was expecting this, not a well planned out attack, from him of all people. He won the match. Hyuga didn't look surprised, but held no grudge.

"Winner of this match; Uzumaki Naruto!"

There many cheers coming from the crowd amazingly, especially from his biggest fan; Sakura. He saw her cheering him on throughout the whole match, with a smile despite everything. He saw the look on her face when he won and wished it was for him at the moment. Would she call out his name just like she did for Naruto? He tried to turn away, but at that moment; their eyes met. They held each other's gaze for only mere seconds but it felt like an eternity. Words unspoken raced back and forth through each other. He felt unconditional passion surprisingly. She tore her eyes away and turned her attention to the annoying blonde girl that wouldn't shut up.

_She really is a strange one._

And just like the in the preliminary rounds, he still had to wait his turn to come, which was going to be a while since his brother was up next.

"I withdraw!"

He glanced over at him curiously. Temari was next and wondered if she would back out like Kankuro.

When her name was called along with that Nara Shikamaru kid, she jumped down with enthusiasm. The Nara kid looked reluctant to fight, presumably because he was going up against a girl again. Uzumaki, being the energetic annoyance that he was, pushed him down the building and into the battle grounds.

His hands began to clench and unclench, his match was up next and it was against Uchiha.

**

* * *

**

Ciao.


	20. Chapter 20: Sacrifice

**I re-edited this to the best of my abilities.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

It was Gaara's turn, right after Temari and Shikamaru's ended; his match began.

Sakura watched the battle below her, it was epic and catastrophic. Two of the strongest genins in the entire village were fighting like madmen before her very eyes. She should be cheering for Sasuke, but her heart was telling her otherwise. The only person on her mind at the moment was Gaara. She glanced over at Ino and Choji, they where both so caught up in the excitement of the match, they failed to realize Sakura getting up and leaving.

"Going somewhere Sakura?" Kakashi asked,

Sakura stopped in her tracts and sighed, "Yes… I can't watch this."

"I see," He turned around and faced her, "Sakura, I think it's time we have a _real_ long talk about this situation,"

"Right now?"

"I think right now is the only time-"

But he was cut off by an ear piercing scream. Sakura quickly spun around and ran towards the edge of the stadium, clutching tightly onto the rail. Her heart dropped and went as pail as snow, the blood in her body coiled up before turning cold. Her eyes were fixated at Sasuke as he pulled back with a huge, monstrous arm following him. But her real concern was Gaara, he was hurt and somehow; she could feel the pain too.

"Hey Sakura, what the heck are you doing down there?" Ino shouted.

She didn't respond; she couldn't hear anything except his painful screaming. The giant sand orb surrounding Gaara slowly began to disintegrate and soon his limp form was visible. His breathing was heavy and the sight of his blood made her want to vomit.

"Gaara,"

Moments seemed to pass by like hours until suddenly, whit feathers began to fall from the sky. Everyone started to kneel over and fall into a deep sleep. Sakura shook her head in and countered the genjutsu with her own. Kakashi grabbed Sakura and pulled her safety. Even he knew something was wrong.

There were black flashes moving through the stadium, rushing towards them. They were Sound Shinobis, dozens of them, surrounding Kakashi and Sakura. He glanced down at her and signaled for her to stay down. She nodded her head and watched her master engage in battle, but the minute he had his back to her; she ran.

She tripped over something big, orange, and, annoying that was sleeping on the floor. She gritted her teeth and slapped her forehead, "Naruto."

Sakura rolled her eyes and released him from his sleeping state, "Whoa! Sakura, what happened? One minute we were watching the fight and next-Shit, look at Kakashi and those shinobis!"

"Naruto will you shut up! We don't want to draw any attention, come on; I need your help."

"Where are we going?"

"To…find Sasuke, he disappeared when those sound shinobis started to attack."

"Alright, but don't you think we should tell Master Kakashi?"

"He's a little busy right now don't you think?" Sakura indicated with her thumb.

"But how are we going to find Sasuke if we don't even know where to start."

"I…yeah you're right," Sakura hid behind the stadium seats and looked for a way to intervene.

She saw one of the sound shinobis backed up closer to her. She motioned for Naruto to get behind her as she took out a shuriken and tied the end with wires from her pocket. She swiftly threw the kunai at the other end of the wall and waited for the shinobi to trip. The sound shinobi was ready to spring a surprise attack on Kakashi, but before he could do anything, he lost his balance and fell over the wire. Naruto jumped in and kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

"Master Kakashi!" Sakura ran up to him, "Naruto and I are going to go look for Sasuke, but we need your help."

"Well I obviously can't go with you, but there is someone I know who can," Kakashi performed a summoning jutsu and before anyone knew it, a puff of smoke appeared and out came a small, brown pug.

"A dog?" Naruto said incredulously.

"Pakkun's nose is more efficient in sniffing out someone that your eyes are for searching, he'll help you two find Sasuke. Now if, you'll excuse me, I can't let Gai take all the fun." He left and returned to the battle.

"Okay, let's get moving." Sakura was impatient and wanted to leave, but the pug instead started moving in the other direction, "Hey, where are you going? We have to leave this way!"

"Hold on pinky, there's something I need to do first." The pug walked over to an unconscious body and sniffed the leg before biting it very hard.

"Arg! Get this stupid dog off me!"

"Shikamaru, you fool, you weren't knocked out!" Sakura hit him over the head, "Well, know that you're awake, you're going to help us!"

"Why should I? I don't want to get involved-"

"You're going to help us or I rip your lazy limps off one by one and let you bleed to death Nara Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru's faced turned pale before he answered, "Okay I'll help, sheesh woman."

The group left the stadium and ran into the forest, dodging every kunai and shuriken flying at them. Pakkun took the lead, picking up on Sasuke's scent. Sakura was right behind him, but keeping her eyes out for someone else. She felt like a traitor, to Sasuke and to her village. Her body was trembling; she prayed in her head he was alright.

Naruto saw her shaking body from behind, "Don't worry Sakura, we'll find Sasuke."

"Yeah,"

"And Gaara too."

She nearly stopped in midair, "Quiet Naruto!"

"What?" Shikamaru hadn't been paying much attention until now.

"Nothing, just stay focused on the mission, and watch out for any enemies."

"Whatever."

**

* * *

**"Temari, where are we going?" Kankuro asked.

"As far away from there as possible, we need to get Gaara out of here."

"He's waking up, what do we do!"

"Will you be quiet! Panicking isn't going to solve anything," She twisted her head around and looked behind her, "There's someone following us, just great, we have to keep moving faster."

"Where is…Sakura…?" Gaara's voice was wheezy, his breathing was abnormal. Temari glanced over at Kankuro and shook her head no.

"Can you sense who it is?" Kankuro asked.

"No, but it's someone powerful and angry,"

She examined Gaara, his head hung low but he was regaining consciousness. She could feel rage and another unknown feeling boiling up inside him, he was ready to burst and kill whatever was in sight. His fury grew too much for Temari to handle; she slowed down and looked at Kankuro.

"You have to keep going, I'll stay behind and take care of whoever's following us."

"Hey, no way man, you can't just leave me here with him,"

"Oh grow up Kankuro, he's our brother," She lifted his arm over her and double flipped back, landing on the ground, "I'll meet you at the rendezvous point!"

He gave her a nod and carried on without her. Temari stood her ground bravely and waited for the mysterious figure following them. The wind was blowing rather harshly now; the leaves on the ground were dancing in small twirls around her feet. She barely blinked when suddenly, he was there. She lifted her head and smirked.

"I never thought I'd see you again."

"And you won't" His voice was dark and rough, even after his little battle at the stadium, nothing had worn him down.

"Fine, are you going to fight me or what?"

"I hardly call this a fight."

"We'll see about that, I'm not letting you anywhere near Gaara."

"That isn't for you to decide."

He rushed at her with lighting speed, almost becoming one with the wind itself. But she wasn't weak, nor was she willing to go down with a fight. She took her stance and readied herself.

* * *

"I don't feel right leaving Shikamaru behind," Sakura shook her head with disapproval; "We should have helped him."

"He's doing his part and we must continue with ours, I smell something strong up ahead."

_Gaara?_

Her heart raced in anticipation. Pakkun stopped once he landed on a thick branch, holding his paw up, and carefully sniffed the air.

"Well, what is it?" Naruto asked.

"It's him alright, Sasuke, looks like he just left a fight. Possibly more sound shinobis, he's moving again, but this time to the east. Let's go."

They were on the move again, faster this time, hoping to not only run into their comrade but to also catch the fleeing sand shinobis. The trees turned into blurry images and the wind started to pick up, all the while something bigger than a storm was beginning to brew. It wasn't long before the three made their way into a large opening within the canopies of the trees. The ground seemed like millions of miles away while the sky was merely inches from their heads. It was suspiciously quiet, not even the sparrows made a sound.

Sakura's guard was on high alert and her senses were heighted. Naruto stood by her side and she could feel his chakra boiling, preparing himself for a battle. Pakkun weaved between Sakura's legs and lifted his snout into the air.

"Ah, kids, I believe this is the part where I leave, unfortunately I am no use to you two in battle."

"Coward, turning your back on us!" Naruto sneered.

"Come on, can you really see something like me fighting someone like him?" He indicated with his paw. He pointed to the largest tree in the forest; its trunk was the color of dirt brown and bright green leaves, surrounded by lighter colored trees, "I'll report to Kakashi as soon as possible."

Pakkun disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the two genins to their demise. Sakura's heart was racing. Fast. As if her lungs were about to give way, sweat beads rolled down her forehead. Right behind that tree was Gaara, _her_ Gaara. And he was in pain, she could feel it. Something else was wrong, like he was on the brink of losing all control. She took a step forward, but Naruto grabbed her shoulder and pulled her behind him.

"Stay here, it may be too dangerous, and if anything happened to you…I couldn't forgive myself."

She looked at him, sadness in her eyes, and nodded her head, "Promise to come back, in one piece."

He gave her his usual goofy smile and made his way towards the tree.

**

* * *

**Kankuro set Gaara against the gigantic tree and took several steps back himself, trying to regain his composure and strength. His breathing was staggering, lips dry, and eyes watery. He didn't know how long he ran or how far he was from the leaf village. He glanced up and scanned the forest hoping Temari would just pop up like she normal does, but nothing happen. Gaara starting already moving and aware of his surroundings, he could feel his brother's chakra already coming back, and stronger than before.

"Temari, where the hell are you?"

Suddenly he sensed other presences in the forest, two in fact, and one of which was heading right towards him.

"Shit, looks like I'll just have to fight this one." But before he could even move an inch, Gaara was already up and eyeing him dangerously.

"No," His voice was dark and menacing, different though, not his usual tone, "This one's mine."

Gaara disappeared in a whirl of sand and appeared right before Naruto, smirking in a monstrous way. Naruto stopped in his tracts and glared up at the red head, his eyes wide with horror. Sakura gasped at the sight before her. Gaara's eyes were sunken in the point where there was only black and two yellow beads for pupils. His face was contorting into something inhuman and grotesque.

"A raccoon…"

"We'll end this here!" His voice boomed throughout the forest.

"Fine by me!"

"Naruto stop!" Another voice interjected.

_Oh no, not now please!_

Sasuke appeared in front of Naruto, knocking him aside, "This is my match. Go stay with Sakura," He looked down at the blonde, "Protect her from _anything_, got that?"

"What are you doing?"

"Go now."

Naruto grumbled, but went back to Sakura.

Sasuke and Gaara rushed at each other, intent on winning. A monstrous roar erupted from Gaara, as half his body was consumed in his ravenous sand, twisting and shaping him into the nightmare he feared. Kankuro watched in horror as his brother slowly became a monster; he prayed for Temari to arrive, hoping she would calm Gaara down. The fight was more intense than it was in the stadium. Blood was splattered everywhere, screams and sounds of physical beatings filled the air. It was a nonstop battle between two powerful genins, there seemed to be no end. With Gaara's sand attacks coming from all directions, and Sasuke used his _Chidori_, it was difficult to determine who had the upper hand.

Sakura held her breath and clung to Naruto's arm. She could feel her veins pulsating through her skin, her feet were frozen in place, and it seemed as though an invisible barrier enclosed everyone, preventing them from escaping. Every now and then, one of Gaara's san shurikens would miss Sasuke and come dangerously close to hitting the two. She couldn't take it anymore; the battle was going on for too long.

"That's it! This stupid fight's getting nowhere, I don't care what Sasuke says," Naruto turned to Sakura and kept her safe behind a thicket of branches, "Stay here." Then he left and entered the brawl.

Temari staggered her way through branches, leaves, and flying twigs to land by Kankuro's side. She was badly beat up, but still standing. Her eyes went wide as she saw the outcome of Gaara's rage. He had pretty much turned into Shukaku, except that the bottom half of him was still human. She eyed Sakura through the thicket and then to Kankuro.

"Why are you just standing around here?"

"W-what do you want me to do, get in that fight too?"

She smacked him across the face and turned back to the three way battle.

**

* * *

**It took every fiber in her body to not jump in and end everything all together; she'd only make matters worse if she did. It was never going to stop, the pain, the anguish, the sorrow. The people she loved, the people she cared about were tearing each other apart in front of her eyes, and she wasn't doing anything to stop it. Every now and then, she'd catch Gaara's eyes looking at her, but it wasn't him. It was the monster; her Gaara was lost somewhere beneath the blood and the sand.

Suddenly, Naruto was knocked aside, crashing into a thin tree and smashing it half. Sakura's heart constricted and she almost made a dash for him, but stopped, knowing she'd still get in the way. Sasuke followed next, but he managed to land on his knees rather than crashing. He tried to lift himself up, but he was weary and it was showing. Fatigue was beginning to take over, and it seemed his chakra was running out. Sakura stepped out from behind the branches and carefully made her way to Sasuke, dashing in between the shadows to stay hidden. She was only a few jumps away from Sasuke when the air began to shake. There was a thunderous roar and a large sand shaped claw outstretched itself.

Gaara had spotted his weak and defenseless prey resting on his knees. Now was the moment to end this fight and rise victorious. He made a mad dash for Sasuke, bearing razor sharp teeth and reaching with his dead claw for the kill. But what came next wasn't what he expected.

"No, Gaara!"

It sounded like the cry of an innocent down. His mind went blank for a second before he realized what he was doing. Just as he was about to grab the Uchiha boy, the pink haired angel he loathed appeared before. Instead of crushing the heart of his enemy, he was killing his only chance at life.

"Sakura!"

_I can't hate you. I won't hate you. You mean everything to me. I love you, Gaara. I wanted to let you know that…before I die._

**

* * *

****Ciao.**


	21. Chapter 21: Letting Go

**Okay I Lied. I got lazy. My computer crashed. Lost my inspiration and motivation. Got a new laptop, but was too preoccupied with IMing. School was hectic as hell. I got lazy. A lot's been happening in my life. I got lazy. I am lazy. Lazy, lazy, lazy.**

**Je peux être paresseux**

**Hgridwggfea – Shukaku**

_Gjrioetuierhylhl; - Gaara_

**Enjoy.**

* * *

"He killed her didn't he? I knew it, he killed her. She's dead, another body to add to the collection." Kankuro whined as he paced back and forth.

"Shut up, I can't hear anything with you bitching like that." Temari was crouched down, hidden between two thick bushes. She was peering into the dark tunnel, hoping to see any sign of either Gaara or Sakura; but saw nothing, "I can't tell where they are, it's too dark. Why'd he take her in there?"

"To feast on her flesh-Ow!"

Kankuro rubbed his throbbing head and sat down behind a tree. Temari scowled at him and went back to looking into the tunnel. It seemed to go on for miles without end or light. There was no sound, not even the footsteps of a mouse. It was pitch black, and yet Gaara insisted, with the bloodied girl in his arms, that he take her in there. Reluctantly, Temari agreed.

After Sakura was thrown off the tree and fell to her presumed death, everything completely stopped. The fight was instantly over. Naruto was knocked unconscious, but was still breathing. He was resting next to Kankuro; his body was weak and useless. Sasuke, however, disappeared into the shadows of forest, leaving his comrades behind. He didn't even bother to check on Sakura. Temari was angered by this, but brushed it aside.

"Gaara, what the hell are you doing in there?"

"Do you see any sign of life?"

"Obviously not you twit."

"Hey, I'm just asking," Kankuro picked up a stick and poked Naruto on the cheek, "What do we do with this kid?"

"Just let him rest."

Kankuro snickered, "He's making weird noises…ew, his eye are turning purple!"

**

* * *

**

What will you do now?

Gaara sat in a next to Sakura and brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

_I don't know._

**If she dies, it's your fault.**

_I know that._

**I never expected this to last; you don't know how to hold onto a good thing. You should have scared her off when you had the chance; instead you grew too soft, and look what happened.**

_I didn't want to end it like this._

He looked at his hands, they were shaking. All the rage in him, all the anger; it was all gone. There wasn't an ounce of emotion left in him, he was tired. After battling himself for so many years, he was tired. Drained of everything inside, all he wanted to do was close his eyes and drift away. Where nothing hurt, emotions were obsolete, and everything stretched on forever. Was it selfish to want to escape? After facing so much tragedy in his young life, there wasn't much to ask for.

He wasn't looking at anything anymore; he was looking past the blood, past the darkness. Is there anything left to hold onto in this cruel world? There was nothing special to keep in his memories; everything was mere dust in the wind. Faces of people began to blur in the back of his mind, his battles turned into moving pictures that burned in his eyes. He wanted nothing from this world anymore. He'll leave everything behind and walk into the future alone.

Something warm moved past his chin. And then he remembered her. His eyes shifted from the tunnel to the body below him. It was pitch black but he clearly sees Sakura's open lips. Life. She was breathing in and out very slowly and softly. Gaara's head curiously titled to the side, his mouth twitched a little. He gently placed his hand around her throat and squeezed. There was something stuck in there, preventing her from actually waking up.

**That's interesting.**

"Sakura,"

Her name stung his tongue, it felt like ages since he last spoke. His mouth suddenly became dry and his hands started shaking again, but he had to control himself. He softly squeezed her throat around. It was a bit difficult figuring out what the object was. It was soft, but large, and blocking portions of her windpipe. It was a couple minutes before he found out what it was, and a grave feeling began to sink in.

His own sand was stuck inside her.

**Smooth move.**

He lifted her head up and hovered his hand above her mouth, retracting the sand out of her. When it was all out, he threw the sand aside. He wanted to throw all of it away, just knowing that it was covered in her blood made his blood boil.

Suddenly, Sakura pushed herself away and crawled backward as far as possible. Her back hit the wall and her calm breathing turned into panic. She started coughing violently and her body began to ache. All the scars, bruises, and broken bones began to take its toll on her.

"W-where am I?"

Gaara couldn't answer, he wanted to say something but couldn't utter a word.

"Who are you? Where's Naruto?"

**Say something imbecile.**

"Sakura,"

Her breathing cooled down and her heart started racing, "Gaara?"

She felt around until her hands found his feet, then they started traveling up his body until they rested against his face. Tears fell and landed on his leg before she threw herself at him and held him tightly. His laid his hand on her arm.

"You aren't afraid?"

"I…I'm terrified."

"Of what?"

"Everything."

They stayed that way for a while, only the sound of Sakura's breathing filled the air. Gaara heard Temari call in, asking if everything was alright. He finally gave in to his body and let himself fall into Sakura's arms. She kept her arms wrapped around his neck, and rubbed his back.

"Go."

"I can't."

"I almost killed you, leave me."

"If I let go then you'll disappear, I'll never see you again."

"That's what I want to happen."

She finally let go and gripped the sides of his shirt, "Why? Why do you always have to push me away, can't you see that I don't want you to go? I'll spend the rest of my life not wanting anyone else. I'm not mad at you; I know why you hurt me. But I can live through it. I know I'm too young to be saying this, but..."

"What about me? Do you expect me to live like this with you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I am a monster. I'll kill you again and again until you can't wake up. I can't live with that. Just learn to let go of me, as I will with you."

Sakura's arms dropped to her lap. The tears kept falling but her voice was lost. There was nothing else she could say; now it was her turned to be drained of everything. Gaara helped her up, and carried her out of the tunnel where Temari and Kankuro waited for them.

* * *

On the way to the hospital, no one said anything. Kankuro tried a few times, only to earn him several beatings to the head. Temari felt the tension surrounding Gaara and Sakura, almost suffocating on the heavy feeling. She knew their faces would not be welcomed in the village so she sneaked Sakura and Naruto inside, dropping them of in a vacant room.

Sakura could only watch Gaara with somber eyes, as he left her without saying a word. Their ties together were cut, and their paths may never cross again. But somehow, she couldn't muster up any anger or sadness. Instead all she felt was reget, that it had to end this way, and that she wasn't strong enough to stop it from happening. Instead of drowning in her sorrow, she'd cherish the moments she had with Gaara and learn to let go.

She looked over at Naruto and bit her lip, using her last bit of energy, she limped over to him. She gently touched his cheek and smiled.

"Naruto…I'm so grateful I have you in my life." Then pressed the room service button.

"This is Nurse Keiko speaking, Room C-114, to whom an I speaking too?"

"This is Haruno Sakura, I have two severely injured shinobis in here who are in need to medical attention. One is knocked unconscious, possibly suffering a concusion, and the other has two fractured rib cages and a broken leg."

"I will send emergency officers and medical nins right away."

"Thank you."

Sakura sat down next to the bed and waited patiently for the doctors. Something rough was scraping against her palm, she opened it and sand started falling out of her open cuts.

* * *

"Temari,"

"What?"

"What do we do now?"

She took a gulp of water from her bottle and sneaked a quick peek at the top of the cliff, "We go home, duh."

"Don't we have to look for Baki?"

"I'm sure he survived and is back in the village waiting for us."

"I bet he's mad."

"Who cares? Frankly this whole thing was a failure to begin with and shows how much Suna needs to change. When we get back, I'm gonna give those village idiots hell. What kind of leaders decide to form a pact with that sound village? Real fucking brilliant."

"Yeah, I wonder what's gonna happen now," Kankuro sat back and laid flat on his belly, "So are we leaving tonight?"

"No, tomorrow morning, I'm gonna try and get some supplies. This whole village is a wreck, so I don't think they'll mind if I use my five finger discount, plus," Temari let out a heavy sigh, "I think we should give Gaara a little time to recollect himself."

"He broke up with his girlfriend, big deal, everyone does that – Not the fist again!"

Temari lowered her arm, "If you can't say anything nice, be prepared to get hit!"

Gaara tuned out the sound of his siblings arguing and continued to stare at the tree. For over an hour, the leaves stayed black. It didn't move against the wind, it didn't have that life it used to. Old memories surrounding it were cast away. The tree too felt the pain, and stayed the color of Gaara's heart.

**

* * *

**

This was all I had in my head, sorry. I'm sure more will come out later.

**While I did take anatomy in school, I never really learned much about the throat or the windpipes so I have no idea how it would work if san really was stuck in there or what a fractured bone really is. Oh well, this is naruto land, where anything and everything is possible (whoop dee freakin doo -_- ) **

**I'm going to try to update this as soon as possible. Because I want to end this story really, really badly. I just haven't decided how to end it. **

**Ciao.**


	22. Chapter 22: Knowing the Beginning

**I've been re-editing all my chapters to this story (hopefully they don't suck anymore) which is why its a little shorter than before, and uploaded a side project; Blackout (check it out, its frakkin awesome). **

**We've had a long run, but everything must come to an end. I finally figured out how finish this story, hope you all like it [:**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Six months earlier…

"_Gaara, we don't have the much time." Temari said._

"_I will make this quick."_

_Temari nodded her head and flung her bag over her shoulder, sneaking back to Kankuro. She glanced over her shoulder at Gaara. He was crouched down and peering through a window blocked by curtains, looking into a hospital room. His eyes were so sad, it was breaking her heart. She had never seen him like this before, so helpless and broken down. It was more painful for him to leave than for Sakura to let go, he loves her. He always will, time and time will go, but he will always love her._

_His sand slipped through the cracks in the window and opened it. He quietly stepped into the room and walked over the bed where his sleeping beauty rested. On the other side, Naruto slept soundly as well, he looked like a mummy from all his bandages. But Sakura wasn't nearly as bad as him; she had few cuts and bruises here and there, the lower part of her leg was in a cast. He was guilt ridden; he caused all this and brought nothing but anguish._

"_Sakura,"_

_Suddenly, Sakura's head turned towards him. Though she was asleep and her eyes were covered with a medical cloth, he could feel her looking right at him._

"_Gaara…" He barely heard her; she still had a hard time breathing._

_His breath was caught in his throat; he didn't know what to say. He couldn't apologize; a thousand sorrys weren't going to make up for the mistakes he committed. She wouldn't forgive after all he put her through; she had to be loathing him by now. He attacked her village, he hurt her comrades, and he put her through hell._

_Then he saw it, he picked up her hand and looked at it. The mark he engraved on her wrist. It seemed like ages ago, but here they are now, only a month after. Gaara brought it to his lips, but hesitated and set her arm back down. His hand lingered next to hers, and touched her finger. _

_Her hand closed around his and they stayed that way for a while._

"_Stay."_

_His heart clenched, she didn't hate him after all._

"_I can't."_

_She let go and her hand clutched the bed. He noticed pile of sand piled in a small container on the table, picked it up and poured the sand out. He wanted to make something for her to at least to remember him by. The sand started shifting and changing into the form of a certain kunoichi, extending her hand out._

"_Goodbye, Sakura."_

_

* * *

_Sakura concentrated very hard, sending chakra into her hands and channeling in into the dead fish. Her mind was focused, determined to improve her medic skills. Sweat beads formed around her head and slid down her cheek; if she didn't make the fish come to life she might bust a vessel. Two agonizing minutes later, she heard the sound she was waiting for.

The fish started flopping around, desperate for water. She threw it in the nearby pool and watched it swim around in circles. A yell for joy came out of her mouth as she jumped around, pumping her fists into the air.

"I did it!"

Shizune rushed into the room, gasping for air, "What happened!"

"Look, Shizune, I brought the fish back to life!" She ran over to the confused woman and grabbed her hand, pulling her over to the pond, "See, it's alive again."

"Wow Sakura, that's amazing. And you just started your training only five months ago."

"I know! I'm a genius, where's Tsunade? I have to show this to her."

"She's in a meeting right now, with people from the Suna."

Sakura dropped her hand and grabbed her shoulders instantly, "What?"

"Ow, Sakura, ow."

"Who, which people from Suna?"

"I don't know, I didn't see them."

"Can you get me in there?"

"I don't know; she's in the middle of a very important meeting."

"Fine." Sakura sighed in defeat and let Shizune go, who also sighed and rubbed her aching shoulders.

They both left the room and parted ways. Sakura grabbed her belongings, finished for the day and wanted to go home before her hopes went up. Six months had gone by and no word from him, except when he came back to help Naruto and the gang get Sasuke back. Though they had failed to bring him back, Rock lee managed to tell her that Gaara sends his greetings.

She giggled to herself remembering how flustered he looked trying to talk to her, but it meant a lot that they were all past the rivalry. At least he remembered her; as long as he didn't forget then she was content. But it would be nice to see him again, she missed him so much. Not a day goes by when he doesn't cross her mind. There were always constant reminders of him everywhere, she'd never forget.

"Hey Sakura!"

Naruto caught up to her as she turned around, "What is it?"

"Tsunade needs you, she says it's urgent."

"What happened?"

"There's a meeting going on with the people from sand, and she wants all of us there right now. We're waiting for you."

"Then let's get going!"

She grabbed him by the collar and rushed back to the Hokage's tower.

"You're choking me!"

"I don't want to miss this Naruto!" She tugged him even harder as she ran up the stairs, dragging his body behind.

She stopped outside the door and steadied her breathing, Naruto laid on the floor trying to catch his breath. She threw her bag under a table and straightened herself out, fixing her hair, and trying to look professional.

"Geez Sakura, what was that for?" He got up on wobbly knees.

"I just don't want to look bad in front of Tsunade and her guests."

She knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"You may come in."

Naruto opened the doors and let Sakura go in first. She stepped in and instantly spotted familiar faces. The old genin gang was here, everyone from Neji to Shikamaru, Ino and Hinata. She stood next to the girls as Naruto went over to the boy's side. Sakura quickly scanned the room for the people from Suna, but there was no one around.

"You all know why you're here right?" Tsunade said.

"We're going on a mission!" Naruto shouted, overly excited once again.

"Would you pipe down?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Anyways, we have some special visitor's who have traveled all the way from Suna, they have requested for our assistance."

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"I'll let them explain." Tsunade pointed her chin at the corner of the room.

And to Sakura's excitement and joy, Temari and Kankuro came out. Temari smiled at her and spoke, "Nice to see you guys again." She eyed Shikamaru and smirked.

"Whatever."

"One of our kunichi's has been kidnapped by these lunatic shinobis. They're holding her hostage, so we're here for some help getting her back."

"What do you guys say?" Tsunade asked.

"I say let's get going!" Naruto exclaimed, running out of the door first.

"Wait you idiot, you don't even know where you're going!" Kankuro ran after.

As everyone was leaving, Temari put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, "He's somewhere in the front."

Sakura smiled and nodded her head, following everyone else down the stairs. Secretly, she separated herself from the rest and walked over to a small clearing. No one was there, but she knew in her gut he would be somewhere nearby. Peering in the shadows of the tress, she tried to see if there was anyone hiding, but no one was there. She let out a sigh and turned back around, heading back to group. Until strong, warm hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back.

"My little cherry blossom."

She couldn't help smiling and placed a hand over hers. She closed her eyes and leaned back against his broad chest, at long last she was with him again. Her chest was pounding and all the noises in the Earth went silent, she only listened to the sound of her heart pounding away at lightning speed. His garment changed, but that wasn't the only thing. He was taller, stronger, and human.

"Gaara," She looked up into his jade eyes, missing them for half a year, "I'm happy to see you again."

"That's all?"

Her laugh rang in his ears, a song he hadn't heard in years. Waves of emotions and memories washed right through him, he was too proud to admit it, but he missed her too. He longed to hold her in his arms, feel the warmth radiating from her skin, and taste her cherry lips again. He would have thought that she would have forgotten all about him by now, but the way she looked into his eyes and kept his gaze reassured him otherwise.

"I missed you."

"That's what I wanted to hear."

She wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. His hand gently stroking her hair and breathing in her scent, finally he felt at peace.

He went through hell just to know her name; she killed herself to be with him. The only pair in Konoha to truly know what the meaning of _love_ and _hate_ was.

The beauty and the beast.

The devil and the angel.

Black and white.

He rested his forehead on top of hers; they've both waited for this moment to come. When they could finally be in each other's presence and not have to worry about anything else. No pain, no guilt, no death. The nightmares were gone, replaced by peaceful nights where dreams stood still in time. Tears were dried, sadness only came with sacrifice.

"Gaara, I glad I met you. You've taught so much, I don't regret anything."

There were no words to describe how he felt, the only thing he could do was show her in his own way. He pushed her head up and crashed his lips onto hers.

Minutes flew by.

"Hey, where's Sakura and Gaara?" Kankuro shouted.

Sakura bit her lip and grabbed his hand, "Let's go."

He growled, unhappy their time was cut short and walked back with her. Never letting go, never looking back.

Somewhere in the distance, on top of a naked tree, on the highest branch; a small flower bud started to bloom.

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Thanks for sticking this long; from my bullshit grammar, to my painful spelling, and myself. I hope you all check out more of my stories that are to come. Thanks once again.

**Ciao.**


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